The word “commercial” these days has a very negative connotation. They’re a nuisance, we find them annoying, and actively skip them every chance we get. The solution has been to make your brand video entertaining, because people don’t want to feel like they’re watching an ad. The brands who can achieve this, engage with their consumers more effectively. In no particular order, but we made them into one anyway. Here is a list that we believe are the top ten most engaging brand videos of today.

10- Party Rock Anthem-Kia Soul Hamster Commercial [HD]: Party Rock Anthem-LMFAO- MTV VMA’s

Car maker Kia checked off all the boxes in the viral video checklist. It’s got anthropomorphized hamsters, the hottest summer jam by LMAFO, giant robots dancing, and explosions. The initial dystopian future war fake-out was a nice touch to sucker people in. But once there, they stayed because what followed was even better than the promise of hot robot on robot action.

9- Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

As easily one of the most drastic brand image changes we’ve seen in a long time, Old Spice went from something your grandfather uses, to something fresh. Their creative single-shot ad was a spectacle to watch, and kept the viewer guessing until the very end. A sign of a good brand video is when it sparks numerous imitators, and it even appeared on Ellen.

8- World of Warcraft TV Commercial: Chuck Norris – Hunter

Chuck Norris facts flooded the Internet a few years ago. Yet Chuck Norris himself never really acknowledged the, at times, flattering remarks on his exceptional prowess. World of Warcraft sought to take advantage of his badass reputation by making him the unstoppable force of nature he is now known for.

7- Angry Birds | Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin’ Ad [video]

The current Wonderful Pistachios ads went for the shotgun approach, employing memes, celebrities, and movie cross-promotion. They’re hit or miss, but all worth watching for their use of unorthodox ways of eating pistachios. It’s fun to see brands using other brands to bolster their own. Case in point, their most viewed ad takes the Angry Birds approach to cracking a nut.

6- Doritos® – Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist – House Rules

The Super Bowl has always been a sure fire way to get your ad seen by millions of people. For years now, the Doritos Super Bowl Commercial Contest has produced cleaver and endearing videos for their brand. One of the most viewed winners had a stern kid showing the new man in his mom’s life who’s boss. But part of the appeal of these ads and what makes them engaging is the user created aspect of it all. An absolute nobody can come up with a great idea and have it seen by millions of people. It embodies everything the Internet is all about.

5- Kevin Butler presents his latest gaming innovation: SimulView TM

One of the hardest things to do in marketing is to humanize a corporation. The easiest way to do that is to put a face on the faceless. Sony PlayStation started making ads with their fictional Vice-President of PlayStation, Kevin Butler. These humorous and self-deprecating ads make Sony look more personable, and people like companies who can laugh at themselves.

4- Evian Roller Babies international version

Evian took their “Live Young” campaign literally and had a bunch of adorable babies’ roller-disco dance their way into our hearts. Who doesn’t like babies that act like us? At first glance it looks like a group of very talented and acrobatic babies. Under closer inspection, the computer generated animation is impressive to see. That double-take quality is what makes us keep coming back for more.

3- The T-Mobile Dance

At the height of the flash mob craze, T-Mobile wanted to make one of their own. They planned and rehearsed for weeks, chose a venue, and gathered dozens of people. But their ultimate goal was to show people that you should never miss a moment. So whip out your T-Mobile cellphone and share this moment with everyone.

2- grab it by the horns – vitaminwater® commercial

Internet memes are huge. So why not put a bunch of them together in one epic brand video. Well that’s exactly what the guys at Vitaminwater did. You have all your favorites. Sexy Sax Man is there, cats in fruit helmets, and double rainbows too. Capitalizing on trends is nothing new. But there’s something endearing about they’re completely blatant attitude towards their use of memes.

1- The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

We are suckers for anything with an adorable kid and Star Wars references. Darth Vader never looked so cute. You know what works better than a cute kid, making us feel sorry for a cute kid, and that’s exactly what Volkswagen did. When the kid finally succeeded in using the force, you couldn’t help but cheer for the little guy.