2008's Best and Worst Ads, Overlooked Division

The Wall Street Journal weighs in today with its annual review of the year's best and worst ads. Some of its picks are obvious (eg. Burger King's awesome "Whopper Freakout" campaign) and some more controversial (will.i.am's pro-Obama "Yes We Can" video, which excited a lot of people but struck me as empty-headed and ripe for parody).

Here's three that didn't make the cut:

Doritos, "Mouse Trap": As I said at the time, this was the Super Bowl ad that got the biggest reaction from the (mostly male) crowd I watched with.

A Beer with Steve: A candidate for Senate in Oregon, Novick aired this ad that both parodied a hoary campaign cliché and defused with humor the uncomfortable topic of his disability. (Novick was born without a hand; he's not, as I first assumed, a veteran.) Alas, he lost anyway.

"Speed Dressing": An award-winning J.C. Penney ad that -- whoops! -- turned out to have been made without the retailer's knowledge or consent. This one is a "best" in terms of execution and buzz factor, and a "worst" in terms of forever linking the J.C. Penney brand to illicit underage sex.