The Best of 2008

Well we just brought in the New Year: 2009. Naturally, most people take the time to look back on what happened in the past year and look ahead to the next year for what they would like to do.

Here are some big things (news/events/topics) of 2008 month-by-month with some of what I found to be the best commercials of 2008 to coincide with each:

1. January: Awards Season Nominations are Buzzed About

Sadly, in 2008, January brought an end to Heath Ledger's career; he sure left us with the best work of his career though.

On a lighter note, I think this ad deserves a Grammy:



Knock it all you want; I think it's hilarious and I'll sing along with it everytime it comes on. "You dippin' on me?"

2. February: The Hollywood Writers' Strike Ends

You don't always need writers for a good commercial - you can use genuine public reactions like the Whopper Freakout series. Get me a whopper!




3. March: Brett Favre Retires...wait, what?

Brett Favre's retirement magically turned into the outstandingly clever catchphrase, "Jet Favre." I'll be honest...this ad's not that great or anything...not that it's bad...but I just couldn't find anything more appropriate...

It's probably the most notable Wrangler's ad though...





4. April: Fenway Park is recognized as being more "Green."

This may not have helped them win a championship this year, but it's always good to be green.

Speaking of cleaning things up, I loved this ad campaign for the Swiffer products:



5. May: Polar Bear listed as "Endangered," the first animal listed due to global warming

You should start watching the Discovery Channel if you don't already; I love this commercial for the network:




6. June: InBev Offers Unsolicited Bid to Anheuser-Busch

All you can really say is...Dude.



7. July: Apple releases iPhone 3G...probably some of the biggest hype to date surrounding the release of a phone/PDA

I generally don't like the Mac vs. PC ads, but I did like this one, especially after seeing that Windows Ad where Seinfeld goes to the shoe store with Bill Gates...what the hell was that about?




8. August: The Beijing Olympics

This Visa Ad almost made me cry whenever I saw it (and I don't think I'm alone on that one):



But then again, Morgan Freeman could talk about what he ate for dinner and it'd probably make me cry.

9. September: The start of the drop of gas prices

People suffered with the price of gas for most of the year. Car ads were certainly stressing MPGs among other things. As usual, I enjoyed these VW spots:



10. October: The Economic Bailout

So the state of the economy isn't exactly something to look back on this year and smile...but hey...atleast the Etrade baby is still buying stock:




11. November: Barack Obama is elected as the 44th President of the U.S.

An inspiring commercial for the new year:




12. December: The NFL regular season, as usual, comes to some surprising endings

You gotta love the MasterCard commercials with Peyton Manning - I love the most recent one:



I wish everyone the best in 2009! Happy New Year!