A new category here: Decoding. Herein we’ll dissect the propaganda that interests us.

This first installment of Decoding targets VISA’s “Go World” campaign. It’s no secret that the misuse of credit has long been out of favor in Europe, is falling out of favor in the United States, and is not even a discussion in much of the rest of the world. So VISA’s got a clever campaign to bring credit card usage back in vogue.

The Go World campaign’s rallying image is long-jumper Bob Beamon breaking the world record in the Mexico City games, four decades ago. There’s a shot of him, head-on, jumping into the pit with USA proudly scrawled across his chest. The headline reads “Go World” and of course there are the Olympic rings and Visa logo off to the side.

Is this in the imperative? Go. Get out and see the world. Travel and make sure you bring your card.

Is this a cheer? Congratulations world on all you’ve done.

Why is USA so prominently displayed? Because Beamon’s accomplishment (and those of all Olympians, regardless of nationality or final standings) exemplifies the human spirit? Or because, despite current opposing arguments from the likes of the E.U. and China, the United States still asserts that it is the capital of the world? Or even further yet, banking is the real global juggernaut, not nation-states?

The website at www.visa.com/goworld gives surfers a chance to browse the tear-jerking stories of human athletic triumph. It allows users to tell there own. It’s a generous piece of anthropological marketing by Visa. It’s brand-sustaining at it’s most selfless–and yet in exploiting moments of such personal success, Visa’s ulterior motives are all the more clear, and all the more ugly.

But alas, the Olympics are here, and while we sit down to the TV to shed a tear and feel the goose bumps for Olympians past, present and future, we can’t help but believe that the marketing execs for VISA are doing the same. We are all human after all, and we are united by much more than that which divides us. So we let it slide, Visa. Because for these next few weeks, it’s not about credit crunches, and predatory marketers. It’s about the human spirit.

Go World.