The advertising Renaissance has arrived. There are some really fresh, innovative ad campaigns around the city these days.

First, even as a Yankees fan, I love the Mets' new campaign. The theme is that these are the new Mets, with new players and new excitement. Each advertisement starts with "Next year is..." and lists one aspect of this excitement. For example, "Next year is running out of 'K' signs," a reference to the likelihood of Pedro Martinez striking out lots of batters. The Mets are rightfully calling themselves the "new Mets" and I think it's great for the city. I'm not an anti-Mets Yankees fan--if both teams do well, that's great for the Big Apple all around.

Second, although I am not in their target market, I think the Dove "unstick your style" ads on the subway are fantastic. It's for some Dove hair product for women. The ads feature different female cartoon characters, like Marge Simpson and Wilma Flintstone, with "before" and "after" drawings. Cartoons make people feel good. The "unstick your style" slogan is perfect for the subway ad medium. Too bad I have no use for the product.

Finally, kudos to American Airlines for its new campaign, highlighting its service to a large number of cities in a new way. "Puerto Authority," in large letters, is one clever ad I've seen. It's an airline ad series from a fresh direction, unlike Delta's campaign last year, which tried to be a kinder, gentler Continental-style city-specific campaign but came off as an uninspired derivative. Of course, the Continental "From (x) to (y)" (for example, "from the L.I.E. to Watergate") campaign is still one of the all time greatest ad campaigns in history.