Volkswagen

There was a commercial for Volkswagen that aired during Super Bowl Sunday last week, but it didn't make Kona's best of the best. Still, having seen it a couple of time since, perhaps it should have been. Do you remember it? It's based on a game called punch dub, and every time a person sees a Volkswagen before the other person, they get to punch their partner and call out the color of the car.

I had some friends who played a car game like this, punching each other each time one saw a vehicle with one light not working. They called it pediddle. Ridiculous name, but then punch dub is just as silly. But it's real. And that's a big part of why this commercial is so good. You can relate to it. Everyone can play. There's the kid with his grandfather. The two Amish folk. The drunk guys in the limo.

I know it puts me in the minority, but I've always loved TV commercials. Sure, the bad ones are bad, but the good ones are art. The Clio Awards (for excellence in advertising) last week, and here's the list of winners. After the jump, some highlights from various categories.

I know this is something we usually reserve for AdJab, but I'm curious about what all you TV fanatics think. Have you seen the new 'Safe Happens' advertisements by Volkswagen? They feature people driving in a car, having a normal conversation about a movie or the overuse of the word 'like' and then - WHAM! - all of a sudden another car slams into the Volkswagen. It scares the hell out of me every single time. And, interestingly, when I was driving around running errands today, I kept thinking about it. I was tense behind the wheel, as if I was about to get hit by an oncoming vehicle. I guess that's terrorizing effective advertising.

What commercials stick with you?