This latest work for Amp energy drink from BBDO introduces the deep, even existential tagline, "Before every moment, there is a moment." Let's think about that for a moment (or the moment before that moment). Wow, we could be here all day if we keep backing up our brains like that.

Seriously, this is a new psycho-space -- the anticipation of the thing, rather than just powering through the task at hand.

As ownable moments go, that's mind-expanding, if a bit hard to process at first. In fact, the whole campaign features such an elevated look (Traktor directed, showing considerable cinematic chops with non-humorous, docu-style footage) and heightened sound design that initially it seems a bit cerebral for a category that generally goes the Jackass route.

Indeed, energy drinks represent one of the few, if only, growth areas for the beverage industry, and newcomers will do anything for attention. Still, nothing explains the unbelievably gross commercial for "6 Hour Power" energy "shots" that's now running on cable. Redefining beneath contempt, one spot implies that a secretary is servicing her boss under his desk, then gifts us with his physical response. It makes the old "Head On" commercial -- "Apply directly to the forehead" -- seem positively lyrical.

Of course, one of the most memorable Amp commercials from Super Bowls past was pretty outrageous: It showed a gnarly-looking tow-truck driver (a male with ample breast tissue) powering up a car by attaching jumper cable clamps to his nipples (complete with a "Do not try this at home" warning across the bottom of the screen).

Well, perhaps this latest campaign is not entirely that highfalutin: The best spot of the bunch focuses on Dennis Wood, a martial artist (these are "real people," not actors, or at least they were until they filmed these spots). He's sort of a modern Houdini, making himself the meat in a bed-of-nails sandwich, but he's far more interesting to watch than modern Criss Angel-type magicians, and not nearly as obnoxious.

He is shown lowering himself onto a surgically sharp and shiny bed of nails, then having the second bed of nails lowered on his chest. But wait, there's more! The crew then puts a cinderblock on top of the second bed (like the killer jalepeño pepper on a cheese enchilada), and a guy with a sledgehammer takes a whack at it just as the spot ends.

Strangely, the guy is far from stoic -- he looks terrified and puts his hands over his face. How's that for a great metaphor for how we all feel in this economy?



The setup begs for a conclusion -- did he live? Did his kidneys get impaled? Here's the clever part: The outcome will be shown online, as part of a longer film series, at ampenergy.com, and the spots are so nicely cut that they do beg for follow-ups.

Some of the other spots tread on more familiar material, like getting at a tattoo, for example. Again, the spot is beautifully shot and features a white-bearded L.A. tattoo artist who's kind of famous, but hasn't that act become sort of normalized in twentysomething culture?

Another spot features a surfer and a giant wave. Unfortunately, a recent spot for No. 1 competitor Red Bull did too, and was also nicely shot. The idea that "Red Bull gives you wings" works in that instance, and I'm not sure consumers will be able to discern the difference between the moment of coming out of a wave and the moment of going in.

Speaking of Red Bull, two of the Amp spots are bull based, whether that was done consciously or not, and they're both good. Both have an organic story line and are fun to watch: the rider comes out of the gate; the rodeo clown (although those guys don't like to be called clowns anymore) puts himself between the rider and the bull. Another spot features a heretofore unknown standup comic doing his first gig at the Comedy Store. This one proves that Traktor can go the serious non-fiction route: It's interesting, but not funny in the least.

I like that the agency is trying to redefine the category from the narrow confines of extreme energy. Not everybody is a crazy young male, after all. But there's only one female in the bunch, Hannah Teter, and she's a snowboarder shown terrifyingly high atop Canada's Mount Fee in the moment before she takes the plunge. She might love what she does, along with the adrenaline rush, but still, it's extreme sports, which seems like more of the same, and not entirely relatable.

Still, Amp has opened up a head scratcher of a mind space, a whole new spin on being in the moment.