Companies have come up with some amazingly funny and creative ways to get us to remember their products in 2012.

 

From Matthew Broderick bringing back his “Ferris Bueller” character to hawk Hondas to dogs destined for a television showdown that might make Maury Povich blush, advertising has definitely made us laugh this year.

 

Many of the side-splitting commercials were part of this year’s Super Bowl telecast, combining celebrities and spoofs for memorable spots for millions of television viewers.

 

The year’s top print ad were sans celebrities,but that did not have them taking a back seat in the humor department whatsoever. Their stark, one-page images definitely got the attention of readers, the goal of any advertisement.

 

Here’s a look at the top 10 print ads and commercials so far in 2012:

Print Ads

“Spending too much time with the wife?” – Clemenger BBDO Melbourne gets the point across about the manliness of Foster’s beer with this ad. Pictures of couples with very similar outfits and hair-dos carried a strong message about how much more manly Carlton Mid and other Foster products are than other beers.

“Real Date” – A Brazilian print ad for the O Fio Brier Bar humorously targets the phony world of online dating, urging potential patrons to “Get out of web affairs. Have a real date.”

“Dogs have issues too” – It would seem somebody at the Johannesburg-based Ireland Davenport agency saw one too many episodes of “The Maury Show” before working on this ad. The only thing that appears to be missing from the ad for National Geographic Channel’s “Dog Whisperer” is Maury Povich bellowing to the male golden retriever eying the spotted pups, “Duke, you are not the father!”

 

“Frozen Meat” –  When you are the only provider of garden fresh baby food, nothing screams it like Godzilla-size killer chickens invading a town. The Lithuanian baby-food producer Marmaluzi generated a memorable and funny ad with this ‘B’ movie spoof.

 

“The Wine List” – Creating a full-page ad with nary a piece of art is tough to do, but Colenso BBDO, Australia, pulls it off masterfully with this beer ad playing on the fear of any man who has taken the wine list to try and impress. Its ad also swirls around the idea in your brain that DB Export Dry is a sophisticated beverage.

 

Commercials

 

“Cape Cod Chips’ A Flock of Seagulls” – This is an example of why Al Gore invented computer-generated imagery (or was that the Internet?) A flock of seagulls rocking A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran” on a beach? Classic. This 30-second spot has so much awesomeness, it bears repeat viewing. In your replays, notice the lighthouse, which is identical to the one on the Cape Cod bag, in the background and   the drummer going all Hollywood and knocking a cymbal of  its stand. Thank you, Al Gore, this ad rocks!
 

“Charlie Sheen’s Reborn”  – Everyone is “winning” when they see this ad for a Bavarian beer being sold in the Netherlands. Charlie Sheen pokes fun at himself in the spot as he leaves rehab promising never to be back again. However, on the way home, he thinks he is hallucinating as everyone he sees – including a pregnant woman and a police officer – are drinking beer. Sheen is so perplexed at things, including a beer bash being thrown in his honor – that he freaks out and fires off the ‘F’ bomb (a line Sheen likely didn’t need to rehearse). Everything finally makes sense in Sheen’s world (if it ever really does) when he eventually sees that what everyone’s drinking is Bavaria Global’s new alcohol-free beer,  Bavaria Lemon.
 

“Matthew’s Day Off” – Matthew Broderick brought back his “Ferris Bueller” character in this Honda ad for the Super Bowl. Broderick takes a cue from his inner Ferris and fakes a sick day during a movie shoot. He then traipses through the city on an escapade, including a trip to the race track and singing in a Chinatown parade, that would make Ferris proud. Adding to the commercial’s humor and charm are modern day versions of the economics teacher and the parking lot attendant’s Ferrari-like handling of Broderick’s CR-V.
 

“Toyota reinvents everything” – Toyota had its own stellar showing Super Bowl Sunday with this ad which notes after reinventing the Camry, Toyota personnel just kept on going. They reinvented the police officer (above) to also give back rubs, couches to be made of bikini-clad babes or bathing suit-wearing, chiseled guys (the choice is yours), and drapes made of pizza. Like a politician, the ad fails to give any facts, such as what exactly has changed with the Camry, but after babes, back rubs and pizza, do you really need to know?
 

“Chevy Camero graduation gift” – Chevrolet made its own mark on the Super Bowl market with this ad of a starry-eyed graduate looking right past his parents’ gift and thinking a neighbor’s Chevrolet Camero was his surprise. The commercial was actually written and produced by 26-year-old filmmaker Zach Borst who won a contest Chevy conducted for its Super Bowl ad. He used friends for actors, locations and camera help. The grad commercial topped nearly 600 submissions for the competition.

 

 

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