Click to view. While usually not laugh-out-loud funny, TBWA's "Get a Mac" ads for Apple, which ran from 2006 until 2009, were some of the most wryly humorous TV entertainment of their day. Built around an archetypal comic duo—Justin Long as the straight-man Mac, and John Hodgman as the bumbling-fool PC—the spots never failed to amuse. "Stuffed," from April 2007, was among the more visually outlandish, with an absurdly rotund PC complaining about how he's stuffed full of trial software that really slows him down.

Click to view. A few years before becoming vp of everything Kevin Butler in the PlayStation campaign, Jerry Lambert starred as one of the "Business Guys" in Fallon's Holiday Inn campaign. A master of deadpan, Lambert stole the show in every spot, including this one, where he imitates the majestic humpback whale in his hotel room's comfortable—perhaps too comfortable—work space.

Click to view. Candy brands have embraced absurdist comedy in recent years, rolling out "oddvertising" that leaves the youth target in stitches. And when it comes to hilarious oddball characters, few can match Starburst's "Little Lad," the unnervingly sprightly berries-and-cream loving imp, played by Jack Ferver, from this TBWA\Chiat\Day spot.

Click to view. Another amusing oddvertising spot from TBWA\Chiat\Day, this Skittles spot skewed darker, with a human piñata recovering from a vicious attack at the hands of a co-worker. Piñata Man's anguished cry at the end is probably the genre's singular high point.

Click to view. Bud Light's "Real Men of Genius," from DDB Chicago, facetiously saluting the world's legion of unsung male heroes, is probably the best and funniest radio campaign of all time, and the TV spots were stellar, too. The faux-epic tributes featured great mock-serious voiceovers by Pete Stacker and over-the-top vocals by Survivor's Dave Bickler. Among the highlights was this spot, lauding crappy guy dancers everywhere.