In this DVR-driven era, not that many people are watching commercials any more and frankly, we can see why. There are a lot of really bad ones out there. But we recently gave our TiVos a rest and were surprised to find some pretty funny spots, too. Here are our picks for the best and worst TV ads of 2009.


BEST: Dos Equis: Most Interesting Man in the World

This year Dos Equis continued their always entertaining "Most Interesting Man in the World" spots. Once again we followed the suave, sophisticated, and heavily bearded adventurer, as he had "an awkward moment just to see how it feels" and lived "vicariously through himself." We don't always watch commercials. But when we do, we prefer Dos Equis commercials.



BEST: Cash4 Gold Ed McMahon Superbowl Commercial

What a farewell card. Ed McMahon teamed with MC Hammer for a hysterical and self-deprecating Cash4Gold commercial. During the Super Bowl spot, Ed joked about trading in some of his prized possessions for cash – his gold cufflinks, microphone, golf clubs, giraffe, and hip replacement. Just five months later, Ed passed away, leaving us to say to him what he said to his golden toilet at the end of the ad, "Good-bye old friend."




BEST: Verizon: Twitter and Facebook Spot

We were at the point where we were thinking that if we'd seen one cell phone commercial, we'd seen them all. But we love the Verizon family technology overload ad. The bit that gets us every time is the son's frustration when his dad tweeted, "I'm sitting on the patio." The teen was so irked he couldn't even get out the final word, "I know you're sitting on the pa-." Get that kid a movie deal. He's brilliant.




BEST: Gas-X: Job Interview

We really don't go for bathroom humor, and we've never laughed at fart jokes (seriously, never). But there's something about the Gas-X: Job Interview commercial that just gets us every time. "Your son Rip is on line toot." Offensive perhaps, but funny nonetheless.




BEST: Ozzy Samsung Alias 2

The Prince of Darkness has done many commercials for Samsung (including a chimpanzee ad that was pulled off the air following a PETA protest). But we loved this spot in which he equated the new Alias 2's E-Ink technology to black magic. The funniest part of the spot: the final squeal the scientist emitted when he was tasered by Ozzy's security one last time.





WORST: Free Credit Report.com

Usually a company writes a commercial jingle that gets stuck in your head, and you just can't shake it. But the masochists at FreeCreditReport.com dialed up the brain itch dilemma by creating an entire series of annoying tunes. The ditties chronicled how the singer wished he had checked his credit scores so he hadn't ended up singing about his financial woes. Boy, we really wish he had checked his scores, too, so we didn't have to hear his songs over and over.





WORST: Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner Commercial: Toby's New Trick

We're dog owners so we get why the lady in the Stanley Steemer "Toby's New Trick" commercial was upset that her dog was dragging its hind end along her lovely cream-colored carpet. However, her blood-curdling scream was just a tad bit over the top, and every time we heard her cry we expected to look up and see Toby dragging a bloodied body across the floor.




WORST: DirecTV: Chris Farley Commercial

The latest string of DirecTV commercials are bizarre – a combination of retro movie footage seamlessly intercut with new clips of film actors talking about the satellite service. They're clever really. But as they say in "Spinal Tap" (which is yet to be made into a DirecTV spot), "It's a fine line between clever and stupid." And clearly it was not a smart call to use footage of the long-deceased Chris Farley and a still-living David Spade in a scene from "Tommy Boy." Yes, the fat guy in a little coat bit was funny, but when Spade said, "never gets old," we couldn't help but remember that neither would Farley, since he died of cardiac arrest and a drug overdose at the age of 33.





WORST: California Milk Processor Board: "The Battle for Milkquarious"

The California Milk Process Board really wanted to sell their wholesome, high calcium beverages. So much so, they created a serious of commercials and a short film called "The Battle for Milkquarious." The 22-minute mock rock opera/sci-fi flick could have been packed full of flavor but ended up being Milquetoast. We can't imagine anyone actually watching the whole thing, and it must have cost a boat load of cash, right? Leaving us to ask the Milk Board, "Got tons of money to blow on really annoying ads?" Clearly, they do.





WORST: E*Trade

Maybe we're just not baby people (we tend to ooh and aah over dogs more than kids). Or, maybe it's the fact that we've seen the whole talking babies thing before (are we the only ones who saw "Look Who's Talking"?). Still, we don't get why everyone thinks these E*Trade commercials are all that funny.