Sometimes they give you an Excedrin headache; other times, they really satisfy. Either way, one thing's for sure: TV commercials, they're a part of your life. The average viewer is force-fed about 24,000 in just one year, according to the media report TV Dimensions '97.
Who would've guessed that a primitive black-and-white Bulova ad in 1941 -- at a cost of $9 -- would spawn a nearly $40 billion-a-year industry? But it did, and commercials have been reaching out and touching us ever since: captivating, tickling, and -- okay, often annoying us. Only lately, though, have they gotten any respect: Nick at Nite's nostalgia-driven TV Land network has had as much success with its ''retromercials'' as it's had reviving sitcoms and dramas. Super Bowl ads now generate nearly as much ink as the game itself. And this year, for the first time, even the Emmys will care enough to reward the very best prime-time commercial.
With that in mind, we thought it was time to plug these ubiquitous moments of capitalism in our own pages. After sampling hundreds of noteworthy promos, from the dawn of TV to the present, we managed to winnow the list down to a hearty handful of national spots. (Local and international ads had to be excluded from consideration because they were not available to all of our readers.) Effectiveness in selling product wasn't taken into consideration (if it had been a requirement, many of our favorites would never have made the list). The winners were selected strictly on aesthetic grounds -- just, if you will, for the taste of them. In short, they are the 50 we consider uncommonly good. Good to the last drop. Finger-lickin' good. Hell, they're gr-r-reat!
And now -- dare we say it? -- a word from our sponsors.
1 ENERGIZER ''ESCAPE OF THE BUNNY''
He's kept going and going for eight years and almost 100 spots. He has an annual budget of $50 million, survived a backlash (David Letterman attacked him with a baseball bat), and has become a cultural cliche (he's been compared to everything from Saddam Hussein to the Oscars). He had a resurgence with last year's hilarious Twister spoof. (''He's out there,'' says agency creative head Lee Clow. ''People believe in him.'') But the second Energizer Bunny spot is still the most inspired: The relentless, shades-bedecked pink pitchman leaves his own ad and rudely drums his way through three others -- parodies of coffee, sinus remedy, and wine spots. Jolting us awake from our sponsor-induced coma, this was literally breakthrough advertising -- and helped separate Energizer from the battery pack. AGENCY: TBWA Chiat/Day YEAR: 1989
2 FEDERAL EXPRESS
''FAST-PACED WORLD''
Quick:Whatmakesthisguysolovable?Maybeit'sthesheerphysicalfeatof spewing450wordsperminute(that's7wordspersecond!).Maybeit'sthatfasterisalwaysfunnier(askKeystoneKopsfans).Maybeit'sthatbusinessclichssoundevensillierathighspeeds.Whatever,thisseries,starringactorJohnMoschitta,isabsolutely,positivelyoneofthebestgimmicksincommercialhistory.''Peoplesaidmakingfunofbusinesswasadumbwaytodoadvertising,''saysdirectorJoeSedelmaier.Peoplewerewrong. AGENCY: Ally & Gargano YEAR: 1981
