Good commercials indeed, although it did occur to me as one of them just came on TV a few seconds ago that they get no originality points for using the same “Carmina Burana” snippet that appears in a billion other commercials, TV shows, movies, etc.
Whoa. Talk about messing with your mind! (It’s the Picture Book link, btw)
Indeed! When I first saw this thread I couldn’t think of any ads that I liked, but then earlier today I saw “François” and caught myself smiling and laughing out loud (and singing along!). So I came here to post about it, but wasn’t looking forward to having to describe it – thanks for taking care of it for me. 
I think they’re all extremely clever, but “François” is definitely my favorite: I love that he’s mouthing the words to the song!
The old Staples “Snowbot” commercial was amusing…
<C>"'Scuse me, could you tell me about this scanner/fax/copier?"
<SB>“No!”
<C>“but i want to buy it for my brother”
<SB>“Get him a cell phone”
<C>“no he really wants one of these”
<SB>“He can’t have her, i love her!”
<C>What??
<struggle ensues between Snowbot and customer>
<SB>“No, no, no!”
<customer gets the S/F/C away from the 'Bot>
<SB>“weeping…weeping”
<salesdrones>“It’s okay, we found you someone else”
<SB>(depressed)“Who?”
<salesdrone holds up surge protector>
<SB>(excited)“ROWRRR!”
and, of course, the Apple “1984” advert…
I *think * it was Frosted Chex. I remember liking that commercial, and I bought some frosted chex. I really liked it. I have “cereal moods” when I eat a certain cereal for a few months, and that was one of my moods.
The one I like now is the 7-Up Plus one with Kelly Ripa. She’s at an amusement park, talking with a friend about new 7-Up Plus, and says all her kids like it “especially her oldest”. And then she shouts at this “oldest child” and says “it’s time to go!” (or something), and who replies? It’s Regis Philbin riding on one of those bobbly animals (he’s wearing his famous suit and shiny tie ensembles) and says “five more minutes?!”, and Kelly yells, “Regis Francis Philbin! I said right now!”. And then he has this pitiful look on his face as he cries “PLEASE??!”
it’s funny.
The Game Boy Dual Screen ads. You know, the ones with just the static and the sexy voice giving the double-entendre lines. Call me easily amused, but I think it’s very funny and well done.
I like the Capital One “pillage & plunder” ads, but especially the newer one where they invade a mall. Quite a few get distracted at the Victoria’s Secret window, and a few more get “maced” by a perfume sprayer.
That was awesome… thank you for that. And in the Nike realm, I LOVE the one where the guy with the Ithaca sweatshirt goes out for a leisurely morning run and in the course of the run all of these professional athletes start joining him in the funniest ways until they’re all racing at full speed to his door. At which point a taxi comes to a screeching halt and out jumps Michael Johnson for the final dash. Great commercial. (feel free to search it out crazy! 
And in other news, the Bank commercial (Wells Fargo?) that has the people so energized after they refinanced that they felt they could do anything. The best being the guy who tries to jump a canyon on a bike and fails. I’m just a sucker for physical comedy, so that when he hits the bottom of the canyon at 100mph (and rolls to his feet) it kills me.
Not all current by any means, but there’ve been some really good ad campaigns on British TV:
Hamlet - featuring a series of hilarious disasters.
Qualcast vs Flymo - headline: ‘Lawnmower manufacturers sharpen blades’.
Smash - with the aliens.
Orange - digs at assorted films
Nescafe - the soap opera.
There’s a credit card commercial series with people waiting around for their rewards. In one, there’s a guy mountain biking with some friends, except his bike hasn’t arrived yet, so he’s miming having one as he runs through the woods-- and takes a face plant. In another a guy puts on all his clothes because his suitcase hasn’t arrived.
Fricking gold.
[QUOTE=emekthian]
I liked the “Magic Server Dust” IBM commercials.
[QUOTE]
IBM had a good run of commercials back then. My favorite was for the UBA [Universal Business Adapter]. It’s set in a boardroom with the company IT folks and a UBA vendor. One of the guys has the UBA in his hands – basically just a mass of connectors glued together – and he’s asking what each one is for.
IT Guy: This one?
Vendor: That connects to your e-mail system.
IT Guy: This?
Vendor: Network.
IT Guy: Here?
Vendor: Telephones.
IT Guy 2: Is it expensive?
Vendor: No.
IT Guy 3: Does it work in Europe?
pause
Vendor: You need an adapter.
V.O.: There is no Universal Business Adapter…
IBM has had some good ones. Who’d a thunk it? Another one I liked was a team of young hotshot techies watching as their new web site goes live. A moment passes, then their screen records an order. Then two. Then three. A cheer goes up in the room. The sales counter continues to increase. As it passes 10,000 orders, silence decends upon the room. As it passes 20,000, the lead guy starts to sweat. As it passes 50,000, the voice-over says something like "You are SO ready for IBM.
Cute and effective.
I just saw a commercial tat made me laugh. The Toys 'R Us (I believe) ad that shows Santa sitting on an employee’s lap, reading off a christmas list. The look on the guy’s face is classic.
Most of the ones listed are funny, but the two currently running I like a lot are just exceptionally well done.
The first is for an HP digital copier/printer, using the song “Picture Book” by the Kinks. It’s hard to describe and do the ad justice, but essentially, you have people either grabbing the air that transforms into a picture, or taking a picture that transforms into life. Fluid, effortless, charming, and an ad I can watch over and over.
The other one is the Bailey’s ad that takes place in a Zero Gravity Bar. Everyone and everything is floating, and when a bubble of Bailey’s bursts, the splash creates thousands of floating Bailey’s beads scattering everywhere. What’s really impressive about this ad is the attention to detail–all the floating minutae in the background as well as the foreground, all incredibly well rendered and fun.
Another Santa advert, this time on the radio. It’s an advert with a drunken Glaswegian Santa describing the advantages of broadband internet, then telling you that if you buy a computer that isn’t broadband-enabled this Christmas, he’ll “come doon the chimney and stick the heid on ye!”*
- Translation for non-Scottish Dopers: “come down the chimney and headbutt you”.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned the M&M’s commercial where the spokescandies (seriously, that’s the term used on the M&M’s website) meet Santa Claus.
[The spokescandies come face to face with Santa Claus.]
Spokescandy: He does exist!
Santa: They do exist! [Santa swoons and faints.]
Spokescandy: Uh, Santa?
It makes me smile when I see it. I think some of the holiday commercials have the advantage of being seen rarely enough that we don’t get tired of them.
[QUOTE=MacTech]
The old Staples “Snowbot” commercial was amusing…[/qote]
I opened the thread specifically to mention Snowbot. My husband and I still say “Weeping, weeping” to one another (in the Snowbot voice) in response to any pseudo-injury.
There’s a Pittsburgh area restaurant chain called Eat n’Park that runs an ad at this time every year with a star trying desperately to get onto a plain evergreen tree. It tries to jump, it tries to climb, it tries to take a running leap and it just can’t get onto the tree. Finally, the tree bends down and picks the star up, and as it returns to its full height, it is magically decorated with lights and tinsel and turns into a gorgeous Christmas tree. Very nice illustration of the idea of the magic of the season. 
There are radio commercials around here that I absolutely love. Problem is, I can’t quite remember which car dealership they’re for (Westland, maybe?) But it’s always a telephone conversation between a salesman and a kid.
SM: Hi, can I speak to your Dad, please?
Kid: He can’t come to the phone right now.
SM: OK well how about your Mom?
Kid: She’s busy too, she’s mad at Dad.
SM: Well this is (so and so from Car Dealer) and we’re running a great special on… say, why is your mom mad at you’re dad?
Kid: Cause he’s got a new secretary.
SM: Ohhh boy. OK well tell your mom -
Kid: Mom says she doesn’t have anything upstairs.
SM: OK -
Kid: Dad said “Yeaahh, but boy what a staircase!”
There are several others, and all of them are just hysterical. Normally kids in radio commercials drive me insane, but this kid’s delivery is brilliant. They always fade out to the kid giggling like mad. Every time I hear one, I honestly laugh out loud.
Mike’s Hard Lemonade (and Hard Iced Tea) had a series of ads in which people recover from bizarre and disturbing events by going to the bar and having some of the ol’ product. These included 1) a guy getting his leg cut off with a chainsaw; 2) a guy getting a large rod blown completely through him; and my favorite 3) space aliens invading and taking away a guy’s girlfriend.
Also, there was an ad toward the end of 1999, playing on Y2K fears; I think it was a Nike ad, in which somebody is so happy jogging in his Nikes that he doesn’t notice the complete breakdown of society around him. It ends with him jogging past escaped zoo animals while dozens of black helicopters fly by, heading toward the burning city in the background.
PBS has a commercial where it’s night, and a skunk enters a house through the dog door. It rambles around the house past unaware family members, cavorts in dirty clothes and drinks from the toilet. Finally, the skunk climbs into bed with Sleepy Dad and lumbers up to his head. Sleepy Dad, with eyes close, pets the skunk and turns toward nightstand where a picture of the family and that pet skunk sits. Ends with “be more broad-minded” and it makes me smile every time.
One that made me LMAO was an old Polaroid commercial. Big hound dog always blamed for what the cat broke is home alone with said cat. Cat is on the countertop and makes threatening moves to do damage to something while all the time he’s checkin’ out the dog’s reaction. This is interspersed with shots of the dog looking for a solution to this devilish cat: the trashcan to dump the cat in? (no), the meat cleaver? (ummmm, no), the polaroid camera (yes!). Homeowner returns to find incriminating picture of destructive cat in dog’s mouth. I haven’t seen this one for quite a while, though. Dead technology, I guess.