The 50 Best Tech Commercials

There was a time when advertising technology was a tough feat. Back in the '70s and '80s, a company had to rely to the public exactly the product did while ensuring them that they could use it and that it wouldn't become self-aware, rise up, and enslave their family. Of course, there were some commercials that bucked that trend and delivered ads which toed the line between art and commerce. These days, however, brands that know what's best try to hit that mark each and every time. That has led to a bunch of awesome commercials advertising technology.

Yankelovich, a market research firm, in 2007 told the New York Times that the average person sees on average 5,000 ad messages a day. A good number of those are commercials. However, how many of those do you actually remember? The best commercials, tech or otherwise, leave a lasting impression. They don't have to be the funniest, or the most artful, or have the craziest graphics, they just have to stick. And that's exactly what these 50 Best Tech Commercials have achieved.

Year: 2000

Besides Apple's Think Different and I'm a Mac commercials, Dell's "Dude You're Getting a Mac" ads may be the most famous tech commercials of all time. Starring a Tennessee-born actor named Ben Curtis as a knowledgeable stoner-type, the commercials became an instant success and the catch phrase found its way into pop culture. Unsurprisingly, Curtis was caught attempting to buy a bag of weed on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2003 which caused Dell to shutter the campaign. Dude...

Year: 1985

If you think Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft is crazy, peep ol' boy back in the '80s. He still had a receding hairline and he was still just as crazy. Only this time—a commercial that has him pitching Windows 1.0 in an infomercial-type setting—he was asked to act like a raging lunatic. This, people, was a warning of things to come.

Year: 2007

Hot girls and cameras seem to go together better than Birdman and Lil Wayne's profits. Canon knows that better than anyone else. Russian tennis star Mari Sharapova acted as the face of its PowerShot camera line in 2007. Our favorite spot has a number of (tennis) balls following Sharapova through the streets. Art imitating life?

Year: 2008

Many people didn't understand this Cars.com commercial when it aired in early 2008. In the spot a guy shopping for a car brings a Witch Doctor along with him to help fend off shady salesmen. It didn't really make any sense, it was funny. Which, considering the host of other commercials for other car sites, is quite a feat.

Year: 1978

Forget the fact that Atari changed the lives of countless kids and adults alike. Or that Pete Rose made a cameo in the commercial. Instead, focus on the fact that Pele, one of the greatest soccer players to walk the planet uttered the words, "I've given up soccer to play Atari." Awesome. Sorry, nerd moment.

Year:2011

The Kevin Butler character is the greatest thing to happen to Sony marketing since, well, since the Walkman was in stores. Combine him with Sony's best-selling Little Big Planet game and you have gold.

Year:1982

How do you drive home the point that your computer is so easy a caveman can use it? You hire the wrestler with the prehistoric persona as your spokesman and say "Action!" Simple.

Year: 2010

To counter against Apple's domination of the mobile gaming world, Sony decided to throw some of the expertise its garnered from making its PlayStation Portable into a gaming phone. Cool. To get the word out, Sony produced this odd and creepy commercial with the Android mascot getting cosmetic surgery.

Year: 2004

No one knows why MetroPCS decided to go with two Indian men as the spokespeople for its brand. Some even find the ads derisive and offensive. We find them funny. *Kanye Shrug*.

Year: 2004

In 2003, Microsoft hired Ricky Gervais and his writing partner to create a series of fake training videos for its employees that would show them how not to work at the company. After they were made the video series was supposedly never meant to be seen by the public. But that changed in 2004 when the videos popped up online. We're not sure why Microsoft didn't want these commercials, which had Gervais reprising his role as David Brent from The Office, to see the light of day. We're sure if these had be run on TV, they would have gotten a much better response than the Seinfeld commercials.

Year: 1989

Before he was peddling pudding pops, Bill Cosby was selling computers. Get familiar.

Year: 1997

Intel knew it had an image problem. It was seen as the uber corporate company that cranked out the parts of your computer that you would never see. To give its image a boost, the company unleashed a series of ads featuring workers in the "Intel Bunny Suits" rocking' out to different funk tracks.

Year: 2006

<p> Do you sometimes feel like you work with a bunch of monkeys? Career Builder feels your pain. This expertly done series of commercials, which first aired during the 2006 Super Bowl, showed how debilitating life can be in an office where you feel you don't fit in. Career Builder hoped that if you felt that way you would sign up and look for a new gig. </p>

Year:2006

Do you sometimes feel like you work with a bunch of monkeys? Career Builder feels your pain. This expertly done series of commercials, which first aired during the 2006 Super Bowl, showed how debilitating life can be in an office where you feel you don't fit in. Career Builder hoped that if you felt that way you would sign up and look for a new gig.

Year: 2002

Following Apple's signature white-on-white aesthetic, this commercial, which was part of Apple's "Switch" campaign, was pour favorites. Yes, it was because De La Soul was featured in it. What other tech company would enlist the services of one of the greatest rap group of all time?

Year: 1985

Andy Warhol was huge in Japan. As evidenced by this odd but awesome TDK commercial he did shortly before he passed away.

Year: 2009

This series of commercials starring Bill Gates and funnyman Jerry Seinfeld was so puzzling that Microsoft had to release the meaning of the ads on its website. Not a good look. However, this particular commercial, with the two awkwardly shopping for kicks, was pretty funny.

Year: 1989

Before the iPod was running things, Sony's Walkman was the must-have gadget. The Japanese juggernaut stepped it up a notch with the release of its Super Walkman which was slimmer and smaller, and therefore allowed users to do more while listening to music. Believe it or not, back in the '80s, shorty in the leotard was considered eye candy.

Year:2010

Wait a minute! Beyonce in a Vizio commercial? Yep. The low-cost HDTV maker enlisted the services of the current Queen of Pop for its new line of 3DTVs. It's a simple, straight-forward ad spot, but commercial starring Ms. Knowles gets an A in our book.

Year: 2010

With the iPhone 4 going to Verizon in addition to AT&T, Big Red too the opportunity to boast and brag about how users stuck on Ma Bell's network may have a good phone, but their lack of service made it obsolete. It was funny 'cause it was true.

Year: 2010

While Groupon was pissing people off with its offensive Super Bowl commercial, Living Social won over the masses with its endearing and funny look at a man who's become so addicted to the site's daily deals that his entire lifestyle has changed.

Year: 1999

Sometimes a commercial is so good that the star of that commercial becomes more popular—and outlives—the product being pitched. That's what happened with Pets.com. The puppet became extremely more famous than the pet website that closed its doors after the '90s bubble burst.

Year: 2011

The last time anyone paid attention to Ozzy Osbourne was when he was spewing gibberish on his MTV reality show The Osbournes. With wife Sharon and daughter Kelly making moves on the television circuit, it looks like Ozzy's celebrity status us taken a bigger plunge than son Jake during his rehab stint. In an attempt to get back into the limelight, he agreed to poke fun at his senility and play second fiddle to Justin Bieber in a Best Buy Super Bowl ad that parodied the mobile high-speed craze.

Year: 2008

GoDaddy hoped to air this commercial featuring Danica Patrick and an animatronic beaver during the 2008 Super Bowl, but FOX deemed it too vulgar. Instead, GoDaddy aired a commercial called "Spot On" which directed views to go to GoDaddy's website to see the intended commercial. Yes, they spent millions of dollars on what was essentially a commercial for a commercial.

Year: 2011

After the success of its "Parisian Love" commercial which aired during the 2010 Super Bowl, Google decided to keep the commercials coming and followed up with this spot featuring a father chronicling his daughter Sophie's childhood using the range of Google products. A bit sappy? Yeah, but you know you love it. If you didn't, your girl most certainly did.

Year: 2005

To introduce its new line of BRAVIA LCD and 3LCD HDTVs, Sony let loose a barrage of colorful bouncing balls down Russian Hill in San Francisco. The message? The color these TVs deliver will be unlike anything you've ever seen. Sony released the commercial in a number of different versions including a two and a half minute short film.

Year: 2010

Similar to the commercials it used to promote its iPhone a few years earlier, Apple's first iPad commercials did little but showcase all the different ways the 9.7-inch tablet could be useful in your life. Nothing more, nothing less. Obviously, it was more than effective with the iPad snatching up over 80% of the tablet market during its first year on sale.

Year: 2005

It's extremely difficult to make a printer seem cool. But HP tried its best with this ad spot that showed how versatile a printer could be.

Year: 2008

When Apple's MacBook Air first dropped it was underpowered, overpriced, lacked a number of essential ports, and was a little flimsy. But it was incredibly thin and the most beautiful laptop on the market. Of course, Apple decided to play up those attributes with this ad that performed the same gimmick Steve Jobs used when revealing the machine: pulling it out of a manilla folder.

Year: 2010

The greatest marketing move Sony's made as of late was the creation of the Kevin Bulter character. Playing a VP at Sony, the overeager exec extols all the goodness that comes from buying a PlayStation product. And—gasp!—he's actually funny. This commercial for SOCOM 4is a great example.

Year: 2008

After Apple debuted its ultra-portable laptop by showing that it was so thin it could slide in and out of a manilla folder, Dell decided to take a shot by showing off its own ultra-portable. So what if Dell's machine was not as thin, nor as beautiful—in Dell's view, with a powerful processor, more ports, and a disc drive, it provided "More Substance, Less Air." Fair enough.

Year: 2011

Eschewing stats and specs, Apple instead goes for the real reason people want its new tablet: their immense love for it. Showcasing all the different ways people can utilize the tablet, it's easy to see why people have such an affinity for Apple's tablet.

Year: 2000

Before it had talking babies repping its brand, E*Trader had a habit for stunting. Case in point: This 1999 Super Bowl commercial, which starred a monkey and two old men, where the company brags that it "Wasted $2 Million Bucks" on this commercial before asking what you're doing with your dough. Genius. It was so good, USA Today rated it as the fourth best Super Bowl ad of all time.

Year: 2010

Unfortunately, this commercial never aired here in the States, but damn it should have. Starring Serena Williams, as the "Sexiest Tennis Player", it's basically nothing but eye candy. Sweet, sweet eye candy. What more do you want?

Year: 2010

Before Amazon released its Fire tablet and went head-to-head with Apple's iPad, it settled on taking slight pot shots at the company's tablet. The commercial did well to situate the Kindle, with its no glare E-Ink screen, as the device you want to use if what you really want to do is read books. Amazon still runs the e-reader market.

Year: 1999

Remember Yahoo!? Back when the company used to run the search game, Yahoo! released this commercial overseas for its email service which promised to cut down user spam and unwanted messages. This hilarious spot illustrated it perfectly.

Year: 2011

By the time Motorola released its Xoom tablet, Apple's iPad already controlled the lion's share of the tablet market. In fact, there was no market—it was just Apple. It was stark turn of events from the company that for years played second fiddle in the PC market. Motorola attempted to paint the Cupertino, Calif. company as the Big Brother corporation it railed against in the '80s with its own take on George Orwell's vision of the future.

Year: 1999

Monster.com's first Super Bowl commercial featured a chorus of children detailing what they wanted to do when they grew up. It's bleak and in contrast to what little kids really want to do when they get older. The message here? Don't lose hope of your dream job. Monster.com can help you achieve it.

Year: 2007

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in January of 2007, mostly everyone knew it was going to be a game-changer. Some people decided to doubt and hate. For those few, Apple unleashed commercials that did nothing but demonstrate what the iPhone could really do—most of which could not be done on any phone on the market at that time. Being able to look up Sushi around your current location may seem like light-work, but five years ago it was revolutionary.

Year: 2002

Virtually everyone knows Verizon offers the best wireless service in the nation. In 2002, Big Red decided to embrace that fact with a series of ads featuring a new spokesman, a Verizon technician played by Paul Marcalli, who posed the simply but familiar question: Can you hear me now? Everyone's asked that while using their cell phone and that's why the commercial stuck. Those it's moved on, Verizon still dusts off the slogan for an ad spot from time to time.

Year: 2010

Want to make people smile? Enlist the services of a talking baby. That's what online stock trading company E*Trade did with its campaign featuring an infant wise beyond his years. The funniest commercial came during the 2010 Super Bowl commercials and the baby's jealous ball and chain questioning him about his whereabouts and company.

Year:2002

With the iMac raising Apple's brand profile back to where it was when it first released the original Macintosh, Apple needed to convince people to make the switch to the platform which was currently trailing far behind Microsoft's Windows. To help, Apple created this campaign to list all the reasons why people should make the jump. The first spot featured a high school girl who lost her entire report when her PC crashed. Either that or she was so high she completely forgot to do it. Either way, great commercial.

Year:1977

Back in the '70s, the Xerox machine was a marvel. With the ability to easily produce copies of a document, it revolutionized offices and workplaces around the globe. This commercial, featuring a Monk who gets tasked with producing hundreds of copies of a document he wrote by hand, illustrates that point perfectly.

Year: 2002

In Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs he describes the time when Jobs first saw iPod ads featuring the now-famous silhouette and white earbuds. Jobs, like the rest of the world, instantly fell in love with the commercials which displayed the lightheartedness of Apple's digital music player. Out of all of Apple's iPod commercials, it was these that had the most lasting effect.

Year: 2011

As you may or may not know (but should if you read Complex Tech), Samsung and Apple are embroiled in a heated lawsuit over patent infringement. Apple believes Samsung shameless copied the designs of its iPhone and iPad for its own Galaxy series of tablets and smartphones. Of course, Samsung disagrees. For the first time, Samsung brought the fight to the public with an ad that poked fun at the Apple faithful, specifically mocking them for waiting in line for a phone that it thinks isn't nearly as good as the one it produces.

Year:2006

Though they began to lose their luster a few years into the campaign, Apple's "I'm a Mac" commercials, which featured Justin Long as a Mac and John Hodgeman as a PC, were seen as fresh and innovative when first released in 2006. Donning the usual Apple aesthetic of, it pit the cool, younger Steve Jobs-looking Mac character against the befuddled, older PC. The company produced a number of the commercials some featuring celebrities like Brady's baby mother Gisele Bundchen.

Year: 2004

In 2004 HP, the world's best-selling computer company, decided to revamp its personal computer line with a new range of laptops and cool desktops. To spread the word, it hired a bevy of big-name stars like Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, Shawn White to speak about how they use their HP computers. Nevermind the fact that most of these artists have self-proclaimed Mac-heads, the spots still worked. Our favorite was the Jay-Z commercial which had the recently-retired rapper showing off all the ways he planned to keep his bank secure.

Year: 1997

The second most iconic of all of Apple's marketing campaigns was the company's "Think Different" ads and commercials. Featuring a number of historical dignitaries including Jim Henson, Gandhi, and Miles Davis, the commercial sought to cement Apple's rebel-like attitude by signifying that those who decided to use their products were similar to history's groundbreakers. Reaching? Yes, very much so. But it worked like a charm. The tagline became synonymous with Apple and was used until 2002.

Year: 2010

Remarkably, Google became one of the world's most valuable companies without the use of advertising. That all changed in 2010 when the search giant aired its first ever television ad during the 2010 Super Bowl. The minute-long spot told the tale of a budding romance using nothing more than its search box. The commercial became an instant hit with many—including COMPLEX—making their own versions of the iconic ad.

Year: 1984

The best tech commercial of all-time only aired on television twice. Once in December of 1983 so it could be in consideration for next year's awards, and in January of 1984 during the Super Bowl. Directed by Ridley Scott and conceived by the folks at Chiat/Day, the commercial carried an unheard-of price tag of $900,000. When Apple's board refused to pay for airtime to run the controversial ad, Steve Jobs and then Apple CEO John Sculley decided to purchase one and a half minutes of air time during the "most-watched television program in America." The result was an ad that announced the coming of the commercial that would change everything, one that is now considered the greatest commercial ever made.