Minimal

Most irritating?

I don’t know who voted for the worst adverts of 2002. While they may have got the winner right (or should that be loser?), some of the others in the top 12 seem rather misplaced. How could the Ikea “Live Life Unlimited” adverts possibly come third? They’re sheer genius cunningly disguised as insanity. As for the Capital One credit card adverts coming 11th — I would’ve said they were in direct competition with the Lotto for top spot.

Anyway, enough of this negativity — what were the best adverts of 2002? As hinted above, Ikea would figure strongly in my list. Alongside them would be the perfectly pitched ads for the Honda Jazz. (It's not all rosy for Honda, mind — that “What If” advert was a shocker.) Other car manufacturers got in on the quality commercial scene too, with Skoda continuing its strong brand reinvention and the VW Passat getting the gentle humour treatment.

A good number of other adverts contained more humour than your average 30-minute sitcom, too. The Adidas “Footballitis” campaign shown during the World Cup went down well, as did the Virgin Mobile ads starring Wyclef Jean and the locker-room Phones4U advert. Let’s not forget the perenially humourous beer commercials, either. Carling produced the odd decent ad, most notably their “Frustrating” one, but John Smith’s probably wins my final vote with its series of ads featuring Peter Kay. ‘Ave it!

You know, I don't know why I bothered linking to those corporate sites. You’re more likely to be interested in the streaming video in the Guardian’s Creative Lounge.