The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman slams the Alberta's oil sands as "the dirtiest extraction of the dirtiest crude from tar sands in Canada's far north." The Globe's Simon Houpt writes to counter that kind of publicity, Suncor has launched "What Yes Can Do," a campaign that showcases Suncor staff, full of brawny optimism and brainy innovation, as they crack codes in the lab, plant trees at an old mining site and stare resolutely back at the viewer. With a heroic piano soundtrack that sounds like Vancouver 2010, the TV spots conclude with that tic of modern marketing: an invitation for a dialogue. "This conversation brought to you by Suncor," the screen reads. "I think 'conversation' is a really important thing for us to have," says Suncor's Sue Van Aalst. As that Suncor spot plays on YouTube, a series of critical videos call out from the right-hand margin. "Canada's Tar Sands: Most Destructive on Earth?" asks one. "See What Yes Is Doing," urges another, a remix of Suncor's own spot with revolting shots of strip mining and oil-slicked ducks, and a stentorian voiceover mocking energy companies' apparent unwillingness to adopt more progressive practices.