The Worthy

A heavy component of advertising and marketing campaigns is the commercial. Advertisers strive to make commercials that keep a consumer's attention, give the consumer concise and relevant information in a short period of time (without the viewer having to dig for it) and, probably most importantly, introduce the product and keep it in the consumer's mind.

Since I had to visit the pope and wasn't able to judge at Cannes (haha, I wish), below are the top five commercials that are currently (i.e. within the past week) playing on our TVs that have managed to capture all of the above. These are worthy of a round of applause.

5. Progressive - Great commercials. Yes, at times they can be annoying, but the concept works well and it isn't your typical insurance baloney we're used to.

4. E*Trade - Since the introduction of these at the Super Bowl in 2007, I've been a constant fan. The baby's facial expressions are priceless and the idea behind it is superb. Also, there are outtakes. Everyone loves outtakes.

3. "This is Sportscenter," ESPN - In my opinion, there are not enough of these broadcast. Perhaps the best one of the group is where both Manning brothers visit the offices, but really, I can't choose just one favorite of these.

2. Mac vs. PC - Although I am a self-proclaimed PC, these commercials are great. Instead of your typical listing of the amenities of a computer, we've got two gentlemen who will explain it to you in simple layman’s terms. And even though these commercials have been around for quite a while now, it still doesn't get old. Bravo Mac, bravo.

Drum roll please…and the winner is:


1. Bing, the search engine - To put it bluntly, it's perfect. Each commercial captures exactly what we encounter when we click "search" on other seemingly easy-to-navigate search engines and then gives us a solution; easy and straight to the point. What else could an American ask for?

Keep an eye out for my post, "The Best of the Worst," to see the top picks for the worst commercials on TalentZoo Media's blog, Beyond Madison Avenue.