tv commercials

A number of famous actors got their start by doing commercials. Today many A-list stars continue their commercial work but this time not in front of the camera. They are part of the lucrative world of commercial voice overs. Take a listen and see if you recognize their voices.

Will Farrell's  character "Ron Burgundy" is an egotistical and often ill-informed TV news anchor but that hasn't kept Chrysler from featuring him in a series of ads for Dodge Durango. Take a look at a couple of the hilarious commercials which, by the way, re-introduce the character in advance of the "Anchorman" sequel due out in December.

Geico's popular "Hump Day" commercial featuring a camel walking around an office  asking workers. "What day is it" has become an annoying hit with school kids. One school in Connecticut has even gone so far as to ban it during classroom hours.

Watching TV can be annoying what with the number of commercials we have to endure while viewing our favorite shows. Once in a while, however, a commercial will pop up and catch my attention. That was the case last weekend when, while watching a Red Sox game a spot for Cumberland Farms featuring former "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff aired. In it, "The Hoff" mocks his own "

There are some clever TV commercials and there are some that are just plain irritating. A Lexus commercial I saw the other night falls into the former category. The first 25 seconds seem to imply one story but then the last 5 seconds completely catch you--or, at least, caught me--totally by surprise. A nice surprise at that!

The first time I saw this TV commercial for Arlen's Transmission of Burbank, California, I was struck speechless. After a second viewing I was still speechless. Laugh, I did, but wasn't sure because it was so good or not so good. Take a look and judge for yourself.

Today it would cost millions to get Leonardo Dicaprio, Ben Affleck or Lindsay Lohan to appear in a TV commercial. Several A-list celebs got their start hawking products on TV. Check out some of those early jobs by our favorite stars.

Once in a while, a TV commercial can convey emotion, especially during the holidays. And sometimes, the feeling that you get from a commercial has more to do with your holiday memories than the product they're selling. Here's one you may have seen that creates an image of an old-fashioned Christmas in the country.

Sometimes during the Christmas season, a TV commercial may capture the spirit of the holidays. And this one is a classic - the Hilltop Singers performing "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing", a holiday commercial for "Coca-Cola" that was also later released as a pop song in the 1970s.

Years ago, the creativity seemed to be oozing from our TV sets, in the form of clever TV commercials. Many of those classic commercials were unique, funny and very effective in selling a product (did I mention memorable)? I just did. As we may be watching a little more TV now that it gets darker earlier in the evening, I thought it might be fun to look back.