Better Eyewear Means Fewer Dead Cats, Says Amusing Specsavers Ad Look closer

The best performance by a cat in a TV commercial this week goes to the fluffy mess in this new British spot for eyewear maker Specsavers. Not that the veterinarian here would know—he's not clear on what a cat is anymore. Specsavers, of course, has a long and proud history of offbeat commercials. The best mistaken-animal-identity spot, though, remains the brilliant raccoon commercial from Sears Optical.

British Advertising Hits New Low With Commercial Starring Talking Butt Crack Seriously?

What a week it's been. As Friday draws to a close, I see your defecating man in the exercise video and your threesome-inducing Sexual Chocolate wine, and I raise you one talking butt crack in this British advert for something called Polycell. It's some sort of spray product that promises "No more unsightly cracks" in your walls. Unfortunately, there's one major unsightly crack in the commercial. And it talks. David Ogilvy would be proud. Agency: 18 Feet & Rising. Full list of perpetrators below.

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Dumb Ways to Die Is Now a Video Game for the iPhone and iPad McCann Australia extends beloved train-safety ad

There are now even more "Dumb Ways to Die"—and smart ways to live—as McCann Australia has made a video game out of its beloved, superviral train-safety ad from last year. "Starring all the characters from the viral hit Dumb Ways to Die for Metro Trains Melbourne, the game allows players to flick piranhas away from a character's private parts and defend another from a snake attack among other ways to avoid being dumb," the agency says. "Players can also pledge to 'not do dumb stuff around trains' at the click of a button." The game, developed by McCann in collaboration with local developer Barrel Of Donkeys, has been the No. 1 free app in Australia for a week, and is charting in 79 other countries. John Mescall, executive creative director of McCann Australia, said: "With the main Dumb Ways to Die video now close to 46 million views, we wanted to give young people another platform on which to enjoy the characters and, more importantly, to continue to remind them that being dumb around trains can and should be avoided."

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He Shoots, He Scores: David Beckham's 10 Most-Viral Commercials Pepsi, Adidas, H&M and more

David Beckham is retiring from professional soccer, but he'll never stop making ads. One of the world's most prolific pitchmen, the former England captain has sold everything from underwear and soda to hamburgers and, yes, athletic gear—building, with posh wife Victoria, the Beckham brand into a global juggernaut. (David alone is believed to make more than $40 million a year in endorsement money.) At the link below, check out the 10 most-viral commercials Becks has ever done, as compiled by Unruly Media. And like Michael Jordan before him, expect to see plenty more Beckham ads for years to come.

Video Gallery: David Beckham's 10 Most-Viral Commercials

YouTube Star Tobuscus Forced Into Making Insane Musical Ad for Hot Pockets Bullied by a voiceover

Stand-up comedian, actor, songwriter and noted YouTube personality Toby "Tobuscus" Turner made this fourth-wall-shattering musical ad for Hot Pockets in which he is bullied by an unseen voiceover into singing about the new Cuban Style and Spicy Beef Nacho flavors. God help us all, Spicy Beef Nacho? I can already hear my toilet crying. Anyway, the concept might not thrill you, but the execution is top notch, mostly due to Turner's facial expressions. Now I want to see him in some sort of comedy duel with Jim Gaffigan, who once compared Hot Pockets to filling a Pop Tart with nasty meat. Making this ad is like slapping Gaffigan in the face with a dueling glove.

Microsoft Hammers Google in Leaked Parody of a Chrome Ad 'Chrome has you commercialized'

Microsoft takes a break from perfecting its blue screen of death to ape Google's ad style—abundant white space, bouncing Chrome ball, Beethoven's Fifth on the soundtrack—in this anti-Google video that was reportedly intended for internal use but was conveniently leaked to the universe just in time for Google's big I/O developers conference. Tagged with the same "Don't get Scroogled" line that Microsoft uses whenever it needles the only digital company more reviled than itself, the spot warns, "With Google Chrome, everything everywhere is tracked. To target you with ads. To monetize your personal info. … Google watches everything you do and uses it to make a profit off of you. Chrome has you commercialized." Cool. Google can trash my privacy and pick my pocket as long as there's some value added. ("Commercialized" is a good thing, right? I can always Google it and find out. See—value added!) What's Microsoft done for anyone lately? Since they took away the Windows start button, I just stare at a blank PC screen and write all my stories on a Mac. Though Google did give the world Glassholes, so I guess they're just as bad.

The original Google Chrome spot:

Here's the Real (and Real Silly) Dunder Mifflin Ad Airing Tonight on the Series Finale of The Office Limitless paper in an Office-less world

Looking forward to the series finale of The Office tonight? Here's something else to look forward to. The real Dunder Mifflin ad below—for the defictionalized paper brand whose products you can actually buy at Quill.com—will air in five Dunder Mifflin "branch" markets (Scranton, Pa., Akron, Ohio, and Utica, Albany and Syracuse, N.Y.) as well as Chicago (the home market of Lincolnshire-based Quill) during tonight's telecast. Just as the NBC show winds down, Dunder Mifflin paper is ramping up its advertising. (It's already among the best-selling brands in the office-supply category.) Its slogan, "Limitless paper in a paperless world," is what drives this spot, which is all about a guy who can turn anything he touches into Dunder Mifflin paper. Of course, he immediately uses his power to prank his co-workers the same way Jim pranks Dwight. The Midas touch is a well-worn theme in advertising, and they're not really challenging any conventions. But let's face it. This is as good as paper advertising gets.

Creak, Crack, Crunch. Local Chiropractor's Goofy Ad Is Painful to Watch Rhett & Link will straighten you out

Just a few weeks after making the most awkward transmission-repair ad ever, Rhett & Link are back with another goofy local commercial—this one for the Ryan Lee Chiropractic Center in Los Angeles. It stars the eponymous practitioner, who twists, turns and otherwise contorts the bodies of his patients until their skeletons emit rather sickening crunching sounds. It only gets worse as the ad goes on. The tagline is "Gentle. Comfortable. Professional"—although if that's true, it's not totally clear what's going on at 0:41.

Fitness Company's Video Goes Viral Thanks to Dude Taking a Dump in the Background Intentional or honest mistake?

Viral marketing can be a dirty business. Check out this fitness video from TheDailyHiit.com, purveyor of home-workout routines and equipment. Right around the :33 mark, you'll notice a surprise guest on the left who is engaged in a whole different kind of exercise. What do you think—an honest mistake at a low-budget shoot, or a sneaky trick to get attention? Via Reddit, where the top comment presents this five-point conspiracy theory:

1. Are we expected to believe that this guy takes a shit with the door open normally?
2. This guy wouldn't leave the door open when there's a camera, which he can clearly see, looking at him.
3. The person operating the camera would have noticed this guy taking a shit.
4. The lights in the bathroom are off. This doesn't make sense unless it was done in order to make the guy less obvious, which would only be done if they were trying to make this look like a mistake.
5. Comments on the ad are being held for approval. Any comment pointing out that this ad is staged is not being approved.

Hard to argue, really. I would add a sixth incriminating observation: TheDailyHiit's online store is called The Shiit.

Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin Pops Up in an American Express Ad What took so long?

The only really surprisingly thing about Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin's appearance in an American Express ad is that it didn't happen sooner. It's been more than a year since Dubin charmed impecunious razor purchasers everywhere with his amusing starring role in his company's debut ad. He's a born pitchman—for whoever he'd like to endorse. The AmEx spot frankly is a little bland, but it proves that while the man may know his dollars, he has trouble with his cents. Via Co.Create.