# What is the greatest TV commercial of all time?

> Thirty to ninety seconds each, yet some sold millions of products and others gave the world a catchphrase, a pop hit or a laundromat legend.

*By YPB Team · Published October 11, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-greatest-tv-commercial-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Apple "1984" (1984)** — score 1000/1000
   Ridley Scott's Orwellian Super Bowl spot in which a hammer-thrower smashes Big Brother to launch the Macintosh.
2. **John Lewis "The Long Wait" (2011)** — score 814/1000
   A boy impatiently counts down to Christmas, only to reveal he was waiting to give his parents a present.
3. **Pepsi "Cindy Crawford" (1992)** — score 705/1000
   Cindy Crawford pulls up to a dusty gas station and buys a Pepsi as two boys look on, introducing the new can design.
4. **Coca-Cola "Hilltop" (1971)** — score 683/1000
   A multinational choir on an Italian hilltop sings 'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke', a hymn to harmony that became a hit single.
5. **Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (2010)** — score 683/1000
   Isaiah Mustafa glides from shower to boat to horse in one take, reviving a dusty brand for the internet age.
6. **Guinness "Surfer" (1999)** — score 423/1000
   Black-and-white surfers wait for the perfect wave as white horses crash through the surf, often voted Britain's best advert.
7. **Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" (1984)** — score 349/1000
   Clara Peller peers at a giant bun and demands the beef, a catchphrase that even entered a presidential debate.
8. **Budweiser "Whassup?" (1999)** — score 349/1000
   Friends on the phone shouting 'Whassup?!' at each other, a catchphrase that swept the world at the turn of the millennium.
9. **Levi's "Launderette" (1985)** — score 263/1000
   Nick Kamen strips to his boxers in a 1950s laundromat to Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', sending 501 sales soaring.
10. **Coca-Cola "Mean Joe Greene" (1979)** — score 263/1000
   A boy offers his Coke to the limping Steelers star, who tosses back his jersey with a smile.
11. **Volkswagen "The Force" (2011)** — score 263/1000
   A tiny Darth Vader tries to use the Force on the household until dad starts the Passat with a remote.
12. **Honda "Cog" (2003)** — score 163/1000
   A two-minute chain reaction of real Honda Accord parts, shot with no computer effects.
13. **Cadbury "Gorilla" (2007)** — score 163/1000
   A gorilla drums along to Phil Collins's 'In the Air Tonight' in a 90-second spot that never shows a chocolate bar.
14. **Nike "Write the Future" (2010)** — score 163/1000
   Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's World Cup epic in which one moment makes or breaks the careers of Rooney, Ronaldo and Drogba.
15. **Sony Bravia "Balls" (2005)** — score 163/1000
   250,000 coloured bouncy balls cascade down a San Francisco street to Jose Gonzalez's 'Heartbeats'.

Tags: brands, tv shows, advertising, commercials