Nike released a great commercial in Oct. 2010 – “No Excuse”.

The commercial is simple, effective, catchy and surprising (at least if you do not know who Matt Scott is) and you will probably remember it for a long time (and even remember that it was made by Nike).

Of course how well it did is impossible to predict since we know nothing about the goal of the commercial but this is one I like anyway…

Apple did a commercial many years ago with the deaf actresses Marlee Matlin. I still remember the feeling when I saw this commercial for the first time.

I was at the movies (don’t remember the film, but I remember this commercial). All movies started with commercials with a lot of fast moving pictures and a lot of noise. Then, right in the middle, the noise stopped and the Apple commercial with Marlee Matlin started. During this commercial the  noise from audience disappeared, and it took several seconds into the next commercial before the noise from the audience started building up again.

In my opinion, what makes these commercial so strong is the strong link between the people in the commercials, their situation (in this case disability) and the message from Nike and Apple. These are not some celebrities put into a commercial just because they are famous.