Do you know the test to see if a commercial is really doing its job? When you see people walking down the street whistling the tune that’s featured in the ad.

Worst – “Brilliant!” from Guinness

Paper cut outs with European accents. I get it. But they try to appeal to low calorie beer drinkers while trying to be funny. It’s tough to deliver a message and be funny at the same time. Few ad agencies pull it off, and, when they do, they don’t use paper cut outs.

Their low calorie message is also wasted. It’s an attempt at staying competitive amidst the explosion of lite beers. Why are they trying to be competitive there? Guinness is synonymous with very stout drinks. No lite beer drinker is going to be persuaded by this.

Best – Unpimp Your Auto from VW

Featuring two German engineers (one of which starred as the crazy German guy in Armageddon), these commercials are from Crispin Porter + Bogusky and parody the latest MTV generation craze of “pimping” your car out. If there’s one generation that can stand to laugh at itself, it’s the MTV generation.

The accents will immediately get your attention and then you’ll laugh at the hilarious antics they use to destroy the cars (they even haul out a trebuchet to launch one). “Representing Deutscheland, ya!” You can’t help but talk about them. Even non-VW enthusiasts are caught quoting the commercial.

They’re also targeted correctly. The ads sell the GTI – one of VW’s sportier cars. And all of the other VW ads are well targeted. The Passat and Jetta commercials where the cars get into accidents are very memorable. It’s one thing to say that your car will let you walk away from an accident, but it’s another to actually show it. Great ads.

Worst – Subservient Chicken from Burger King

Originating at the end of 2005, these commercials carried over into 2006 with the “Big Buckin’ Chicken” ads. Like the VW commercials, these were done by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. But I guess you can’t win them all right?