Honorable Mention

Sync “Anesthesia”- I have commented on these ads before, and this one is no different. Having the surgeon say “anesthesia on” and then just begin the surgery was good. Even the patient saying “Ow” was good. This ad only missed being on my favorites because they kept repeating the joke for all the idiots out there who may not have gotten it. Subtlety is sometimes better in terms of humor. It makes people feel good when they get the joke without having it beaten over their heads.

Audi R8 – This lame Godfather homage would have ended up on the worst list except for one thing: that car is super cool.

Bridgestone – There were two of these ads featuring a car swerving around objects in the road and they were both good. The first, I would have expected to hate due to the extended screaming done by the squirrel and the passenger and other forest creatures, but I actually found myself chuckling instead. The second had the car swerving around a deer, and then, randomly, Alice Cooper. This one would have gone all the way to favorites except that then the car swerved around Richard Simmons, too. Now ignoring the sheer improbability that Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons would ever be in the same place at the same time, this is just another case of the joke being carried too far. One random celebrity in the road, funny. Two, not so much.

Dell – I laughed out loud the first time the guy walking down the street with the Dell got slapped on the butt. Then I thought it was amusing that everyone was cheering him and patting his shoulder, etc. Then I just thought it should be over.

FedEx – Giant carrier pigeons wreaking havoc in the city. So silly.

Cars.com – There were two of these ads featuring customers at car dealerships who brought along “plan B”s unless they couldn’t get the right price, and they should have aired in the opposite order. The witch doctor was great, but the stone ring death match was greater.

Garmin – The car itself was pretty neat, and I didn’t think much of it when Napolean got out. But I laughed out loud when they brought out his tiny pony. One question though – did anyone else just feel like they were reenactors rather than the actually French army? I did but I don’t know why.

Life Water – This started out as an entry in the worst category. The Beyonce/Naomi Campbell looking person strutting around with her water – blech. But then the lizards started doing thriller and I changed my assessment.

CareerBuilder.com – These were pleasantly strange ads. It was mildly surprising when the spider came down and ate the singing bug during his duet in the “wishing won’t get you a better job” ad. And I loved the expression on the woman’s face in the “follow your heart” spot when her heart leapt out of her chest (looking like her boob exploded), walked over to her lobster (?) eating boss, and quit for her. She barely even looked surprised, much less dismayed to find a gaping hole in her chest.

GMC Yukon Hybrid – I liked the how the line drawing of Sisyphus (dig the knowledge yo) rolling the huge boulder up the hill seemed to change styles constantly, as if several different artists had drawn it. It was so simple and visual. I also like whenever there is a new hybrid SUV because it increases the chances I’ll be able to get one someday.

Comcast HD – The mother singing “More, More, More” when her son tells her about his new Comcast HD was delightfully creepy. Especially when she told him “her love for you is real.” And he looked appropriately weirded out by the whole thing, too.

Harmony Remote Control – “ Your Dad can watch your kids, but starting their favorite movie is another story.” Yeah, this ad kind of made fun of older people and their inability to work modern technology, but then again, I know people of a certain generation who practically need instructions to work the remote so maybe it wasn’t all that inaccurate. And the sound of the kids in the background running amok was a nice touch.

E-Trade Trading Baby – I was on the fence with this one. I am typically not a fan of the whole talking (or dancing) baby thing, but this was done well enough that it looked realistic. And the dry, voiceovers were great (“You might be saying ‘aren’t you a little young to be trading?’ and I say A) don’t worry about how young I am”). And they threw in a comment about how clowns are creepy, so that was good. But the spit up was unnecessary.

Coke – The political talking heads (James Carville and teh Republican guy) touring around town together was lame until they passed by on Segways*. But the one with the parade balloon being chased by Underdog and Stewie was great. It actually managed to look like they were just run away balloons, while also making it very clear that they were chasing, and fighting over, the coke. Of course, Charlie Brown got it in the end, and yeah, he’s a classic and all that, but I am way over Peanuts.
*upon second veiwing, I like this one more for 2 reasons: 1) they taught me that Jinx rules mean you have to drop everything and buy the coke w/o speaking, and 2) they just walk out on a tv interview - the host has got to be like "what?" I also now know the Republican guy is Bill Frist. Educational and entertaining!

UnHitched – the ad for this show featured a guy at a bar with a baby in a bjorn on his chest. He drips some dip onto the kids head and then licks it off. Now, I’m sure that many people (childless people) out there found this gross. But let me tell you: as a mother of two who has on occasion licked food off of her children, that is funny. And true.