The Greek Tourism Ministry recently launched a $75 million global ad campaign promoting Greece as a year-round vacation destination, with ads inviting travelers to “Live your myth in Greece.” As an unofficial sponsor, you can count I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter—you know, that cholesterol-free margarine touted for years by Fabio. A tongue-in-cheek ad for the spread features “Nikos,” a handsome man working in what appears to be a family-run Greek diner. When a woman asks the waitress for the product, she yells for Nikos, drying dishes behind the counter, to grab the “gold” key. He uses it to whisk the woman out the back door, into a Dionysian feast in white, complete with Ionic columns, a Mediterranean view and guests feeding each other. As Nikos treats the woman to a seaside massage, she complains, “Nikos, you missed a spot,” then holds up a piece of corn on the cob, which he dutifully sprays. It’s kind of like those “Calgon, take me away!” commercials, but instead of a bath, the woman loses herself in a faux-butter fantasy. For the real thing, go to Astoria, Queens, where there are plenty of handsome Greek men looking for love (or hit up any local diner—chances are good you’ll find a Nikos of your own). And before you know it, you too could “live your myth.”

—Posted by Eleftheria Parpis