In a couple of weeks it will have been 25 years since Ridley Scott’s hammer-tastic 1984 commercial introducing the Macintosh was seen during Super Bowl XVIII. Though it wasn’t seen on television again until popular demand brought it back years later, it wasn’t for lack of quality. Ridley Scott was just coming off of Blade Runner, and the spot, which cost over a million dollars to produce, has been named the best television commercial of all time. Not too shabby.

But in a day and age of TiVos and DVRs, are commercials still relevant? In fact, it’s hard to remember more than a handful of commercials that have had the cultural impact of Scott’s 1984.

Ad agencies often turn to big talent to try and draw attention to a commercial, and the pendulum often swings the other way when Hollywood taps a commercial director to direct a feature. That’s what launched the careers of David Fincher, Michael Bay, and many other high-profile filmmakers. While 1984 might be the most famous commercial by a famous director, there have been a slew of others that have been equally as strange, from artists ranging from Spike Jonze to the Coen Brothers. Here’s a look at a some of the better ones, including both Ridley Scott’s 1984 (and it’s updated 2003 version, along with the Hilary Clinton version from last year’s Presidential race).

1984 - Ridley Scott

The clip that started it all originally ran 60 seconds, but the Apple board of directors hated it, and the advertising firm Chiat/Day was only able to sell the 30 second version during the Super Bowl. Although most people consider the “Big Brother” talking head to represent IBM, underdog Apple’s rival at the time, the creators at the ad agency actually claim that the ad just represents empowerment, and not a specific foe. And yet, at a 1983 keynote where he showed the ad to an audience for the first time, Steve Jobs strenuously implied otherwise.

1984 Redux - Ridley Scott + CGI

20 years later, Apple updated the famous commercial by outfitting the hammer carrier with an iPod and earbuds. Consider this the Lucas-esque CGI makeover of an old classic, which The Register called “An act of artistic vandalism exceeded only by the special editions of the first Star Wars trilogy.” What will Apple be doing with this in subsequent years? Adding an iPhone? Sticking in any other products they end up releasing? It’s perfectly ripe for the Apple Nike+ Nano running kit.

1984 - Hillary Clinton - Phil de Vellis

During the 2008 Democratic Primaries, an anonymous YouTuber uploaded a mashup video between 1984 and a speech from Hillary Clinton as a pro-Obama piece. As fervor grew around the video, Phil de Vellis ended up stepping forward and claiming responsibility, and he then stepped down from his job at a company which provides technological support to presidential campaigns. As he left, he said, “This ad was not the first citizen ad and it will not be the last. The game has changed.” Hopefully with the introduction of easier-to-use editing software –– like, ironically,  Apple’s iLife ‘09 –– this will make for more meaningful mashups like this one.

Hovis - Ridley Scott

Scott himself got his start directing television commercials in the UK, most notably this 1973 commercial for Hovis Bread. It was voted the all-time favorite British commercial in 2006, which leaves me scratching my head a bit. Sure, it seems like a touching commercial, but nothing about it seems to indicate someone who would go on to direct one of the scariest sci-fi films ever made, let alone become one of the great filmmakers of our times. Maybe it just rings a nostalgic bell in the UK?

PS2 - David Lynch

David Lynch has directed a slew of strange television commercials, and this one for the PlayStation2 is one of the most bizarre. He directed two commercials for Sony’s new gaming console back in 2000, and shot both of them in two days with a maximum of two takes per shot, referring to a shot list jotted down on the back of an envelope. Yes, it’s not hard to imagine that he sort of just winged these, but who can say what really goes on in David Lynch’s head? The other commercial, featuring a superpowered deer, is a bit more coherent than this one.

Parisienne Cigarettes - David Lynch

Besides the Playstation, Lynch has directed commercials for everything ranging from perfumes and colognes to Alka-Seltzer, to a home pregnancy test (which is actually surprisingly normal). However, most of those pale in comparison to his completely off the wall commercial for Parisienne Cigarettes. These were a series of ads commissioned by a British tobacco company to tout their line of French cigarettes, and directors were told to do whatever they wanted. They didn’t even have to mention the name of the company of show people smoking. Does watching this make you want to buy cigarettes, or just go rent Twin Peaks: Season One?

Parisienne Cigarettes - Joel and Ethan Coen

The Coen Brothers got their start in filmmaking by remake movies they’d seen on television using their Vivitar Super 8 camera, but they didn’t return to the small screen other than Ethan writing on Cagney & Lacey for awhile. It seems odd that they’d direct a television commercial, but this definitely has that Coen Brothers feeling, it makes me wish there were a DVD full of short films directed by them. This might be as close as we can get.

Parisenne People - Anne-Marie Miéville and Jean-Luc Godard

Just to show that this trend isn’t limited to famous American directors, this Miéville/Godard combination contribution is from 1992. It differs a bit by actually featuring the product in the commercial very prominently, but it’s still a bit strange and avant-garde, to be sure. Strangely, I couldn’t find any mention of this in Richard Brody’s Everything is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard. (Update: Richard himself has let me know that it’s on pages 540 to 541).

Ikea Lamp - Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze has gone back and forth from commercial director to feature director several times. He was nominated for “Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005,” due to the multiple commercials he directed that year, and then spent the next three-plus years battling Warner Brothers through extensive reshoots on Where The Wild Things are. At least he can always go back to making commercials like this one, where it’s impossible not to feel sorry for this little lamp, even though yes, it’s an inanimate object.

BMW M5 - “Star” - Guy Ritchie

In 2001, BMW decided to create a series of commercials starring Clive Owen as an unnamed driver who would get into various predicaments and show off different BMW automobiles and his driving skill. They were sort of like a prequel to The Transporter, and his character in Shoot ‘Em Up is pretty similar to the one he plays here. “The Hire” starred Madonna and her faux accent, and the ending of this one is just priceless. It just sort of makes you wish that this was based on a true story.

BMW M5 - “The Follow” - Wong Kar-Wai

They went on to make eight of these short films / commercials, but they promised most of the talent involved that these would only be shown on the internet and wouldn’t be sold or shown on television. However, they started giving DVDs out at BMW dealerships that had these shorts on them, and Forest Whitaker decided he didn’t like that. So from then on, BMW gave out the discs without Kar-Wai’s on them, but they included a second disc linking you to the website, if you wanted to watch his short online. Confused yet? Anyhow, you can still see it (and all the rest) online.

Coca-Cola - David Fincher

David Fincher skipped film school and found work loading cameras before he worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Soon after, he left to direct a commercial featuring a fetus smoking a cigarette for the American Cancer Society. Soon after, he was directing commercials for everyone from Pepsi to Revlon before moving on to music videos. He still returns to commercials from time to time, like for the one. Following in Ridley Scott’s footsteps, Fincher created this 1993 Coca Cola commercial after directing Aliens 3. It’s done in a Blade Runner motif, and is appropriately called “Blade Roller.”

Smirnoff - Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry is almost as well-known for his quirky music videos as he is feature films. However, he’s also directed several prominent commercials like this one for Smirnoff, where he actually pioneered the usage of “bullet time” before it appeared in The Matrix and countless other films. Since then, he’s directed a slew of commercials for Nike, Levis, Diet Coke, The Gap, and plenty of other products. According to The Guinness Book of World Record from 2004, his Drugstore Levi’s commercial has won more awards than any other commercial. Ever. But, it’s never been seen on North American TV because it features condom. Good grief, FCC.

Wes Anderson - American Express

Since I’ve been on a Wes Anderson kick lately, here’s his American Express commercial. It’s odd to see him directing himself, but this isn’t the first time Anderson has been accused of being self-indulgent. In 2007, Anderson directed a series of commercials for AT&T, showing a customer talking directly to the camera, while their world spins behind them like Disney’s old “Carousel of Progress” ride. Sadly, YouTube seems to have yanked all of these down, so the only one left is this one from a user claiming the Actor commercial is an homage to Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo. Which might actually be true.