10 Greatest US Christmas Commercials Of All Time

By Raymond Keith Woods /

4. The Red and Yellow M&M's Meet Santa

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Spokescandy. It is a pretty sick and twisted idea. Are people really comfortable seeing a human face put on that which they devour so ravenously? The answer is apparently yes. The M&M's spokescandy commercials, which began airing in the 90's is now a successful, and much welcomed part of pop culture. The CGI campaign (animated versions appeared in previous commericals) owes much of its success to the funny, sarcastic scripts and dynamite voice acting done over the years by great actors like Jon Lovitz (originally Red until Billy West took over) and John Goodman (originally Yellow until J.K. Simmons took over). While not really known for seasonal spots, as they thrive on situational comedy, the people at M&M's have managed to produce two commercials that have met with great success as they air year after year. The first, of course, is the 16-second Halloween spot, where our little friends' size and stature, which endures them to millions, works against them in their social life.The second is the famous Christmas commercial, where our candy-coated friends meet the jolly old elf in the flesh. I guess it can't really be called a meeting since they faint at the sight of each other, but it was still cool seeing them share the screen, no matter how briefly. Still, it was sad to see that Santa, in spite of the way people have doubted his existence, is so narrow minded about the existence of other fanciful characters. You'd expect that kind of doubt from the Red (sarcastic) M&M but not from the Santa. Thank God Yellow kept an open mind and his subsequent footing. At any rate, Merry Christmas and happy head trauma.