Pass or Fail: VERSUS' superhero-themed NHL All-Star Game ad

Yahoo! Sports

Wed Jan 05 09:55am EST

Pass or Fail: VERSUS' superhero-themed NHL All-Star Game ad

The NHL's partnership with Stan Lee to create "NHL Guardians" comic book heroes for all 30 teams has inspired both creativity and scorn. But it's also apparently inspired the motif for VERSUS' 2011 NHL All-Star Game commercial that began airing this week, in which NHL players are featured striking iconic poses and doing heroic things like skating down dark roads next to large tanker trucks. Take a look:

VERSUS 2011 NHL All-Star Game ad from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo.

We love the idea of there being an NHL logo "bat signal" that emanates from the League offices in Manhattan, so Bettman can summon Bill Daly or Colin Campbell no matter where they are that evening.

Obviously, the comic geek in all of us can get down with Jonathan Toews (notes) of the Chicago Blackhawks being the NHL's Dark Knight and skating down a [expletive] skyscraper.

Toews, Sidney Crosby (notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alex Ovechkin (notes) of the Washington Capitals and Robert Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks were all represented in the ad, so one assumes the latter two will be in the pool of players for the NHL Fantasy Draft. Does that mean we can count on the following all-stars as well? Or Crosby as a captain in the draft? And if so, WHERE WAS OUR SPOILER WARNING, HUH?

The only downside to the commercial was the acknowledgement that the Guardian Project is going to play such a prominent role at the All-Star Game. Because ... well, Wind Ninja.

So, taking it all into account, we ask you the Puck Daddy readership:

Pass or Fail: The 2011 NHL All-Star Game commercial from VERSUS.