Personally, I generally hate adverts. They cut into my TV viewing, they're often annoying or pointless, insult my intelligence or consistently try to sell me something I'm never going to need or want by SHOUTING AT ME IN A LOUD, EXCITED VOICE! No, I DON'T want a bloody sofa! I don't CARE how low your price is! I. DON'T. WANT. ONE!
But down the years there have been some pretty good ones, some of which involve music, but some which are just so damn good that I felt I should share them here. Many of these are from years, even decades ago, so if you're confused as to what's going on (as ads are often a product of their time, trying to “tap into” the consciousness and fads of the day) then just ignore the product: the message will still be valid. Or at least, funny.
One of the most successful batch of ads ever (at least, over here) was just about anything KitKat did. The first one here is not my absolute favourite (that's second) but I love the way it kind of prophesied how music consumption, the trend of celebrity worship was going to evolve, and take over our lives, where style would win out over substance, and the most annoying, vacuous and most importantly talentless bands or singers would make it huge, purely on the back of popularity through the media. See what I mean here...
Then there's the best.KitKad.Ad. Ever. No contest.
And this one is similar, but I still like it a hell of a lot.
Of course, the Cadbury's Flake ads were always huge, epic productions, with amazing visuals and great music. This is one of the original, and best. Warning: Viewers are advised that the first few seconds of this video contains the titles for the “Cannon and Ball show”. The Playlist of Life will not be responsible for any distress suffered by anyone who watches these titles. You have been warned.
I hesitate to give MacDonalds any free advertising, but hell, this one is worth it! Gotta hand it to them...
A great but shocking video that just grabs you, as it should: it's for road safety (and stop bloody texting and look where you're going!)
Since I'm a cat lover, I of course love this IKEA ad. So cute! (Cat haters, avoid. And stop hating cats.)
Ever see a skeleton advertise a videotape? You will now. Yeah, not even in death can they escape from ads...
And who could forget the Smash Martians? Just proves: a good ad will mean you still remember their slogan and jingle, even thirty years on...
I just want to include this because it was the first time I ever heard “Carmina Burana” --- well, “O fortuna”, but for years I was told it was the other thing.
And to finish with, this ad STILL makes me roar laughing! I'd buy their cigars --- and I don't even smoke!