Kermit has the blues

Not a half bad version of Radiohead's Creep, once you get past hearing Kermit sing the F word.

Holiday Inn

I like this commercial. In fact, there is a whole series starring Jerry Lambert as Ted. Check out the Humpback Whale, the Pillow Menu, and the Race Suit commercials.

Say NO to dirt

No kidding, say NO to dirt! Nothing like being all glam and sitting on a bathroom floor next to the toilet, preparing to sniff whatever, when the toilet cleans up for you! Imagine what it can do with the pee that, miraculously, always ends up on the rim or the seat?

Where can I sign up for one of these?

GE Wind Energy

GE has a winner with this tv commercial. The little boy clinging to his jar in the train is so precious, and what looks like a empty jar is not empty at all. Very nice. It doesn't hurt to have Donovan's first hit, Catch the Wind, as the music.

I guess I wasn't the only kid who saved things like jars of air and water, carefully labeled for date, time and location of collection.

There is a longer commercial about wind energy from the German company Epuron, that is obviously not made for US television, since it is two minutes long. Worth watching though.

Priceless

The MasterCard Priceless series has been very good overall. One of my favorites of the current crop of ads is the Robot Dance. I just love this commercial. It's cute and funny and empathetic without pandering or making fun.

There are some good ones viewable on YouTube from other countries. This one for OxFam is truly gorgeous:

Others in this series that I've enjoyed are the Elephant, MacGyver and the Red Sox Series. Some, like the MacGyver spot, are a bit of an inside joke, and there are probably other locally aimed ads similar to the Red Sox commercial, but the point is establishing the brand. That they have accomplished with a catch line that is now part of the culture.

Not only did MasterCard give us a good series of ads, they've inadvertently given us a huge series of ad parodies. One of the best is Indecent Proposal.

Carry on, MasterCard!