Ad break: Mercedes-Benz chickens, Carlsberg Premier League push

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/02/ad-break-mercedes-benz-chicken-carlsberg-premier-league

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Mercedes-Benz: 'Chicken' (starts at 00:06) - Germany

This is what Mercedes needs to sell its cars in Germany – a surreal mix of chickens and Diana Ross to underline a proposition about motion stability. As well possessing the quirkiness favoured by today's advertising industry this commercial contains a pretty compelling claim about the steadiness of the cars it wants us to buy. It's also the kind of advert that broadens the appeal of a brand simply because people like it and – because of this – it's a little reminiscent of Cadbury's famous Gorilla ad. Agency: Jung von Matt (Stuttgart) Director: Daniel Warwick

Carlsberg: 'The Ride' (starts at 00:55) - UK

Juan Cabral – who in 2006 was responsible for the Cadbury's Gorilla ad – takes football fans on the rollercoaster ride of their lives in a minute-long commercial for Carlsberg, one of the sponsors of the English Premier League. The fairground ride proves an apt metaphor for the stomach-churning highs and lows felt by ardent fans as they follow their team's progress through the season. Cabral makes it look pretty terrifying, which it is – especially if your team has just come up from the Championship. Agency: Santo Director: Juan Cabral

Trolli: 'Best Friend Ever' (starts at 01:59) - US

A boy creates a dog using the advertised confectionery and plays happily with his "new best friend" until an older boy comes along and decides that the little fella is too delicious to resist. It possesses that wonderfully weird vibe at which independent film-makers in the US are especially adept, and could easily be a scene from Napoleon Dynamite or a movie of the same ilk. Agency: Periscope (Minneapolis) Director: Dave Laden

Daily Mirror: 'Thinking Cap' (starts at 02:32) - UK

This commercial is part of a broader marketing effort to modernise the newspaper and persuade tabloid readers that there's a more intelligent alternative out there. It's a tough assignment – all of the world's newspapers are in the midst of a lengthy transformation from print to digital and it's hard enough to persuade their readers to continue buying any newspaper at all. Agency: Quiet Storm Director: Trevor Robinson

Chivas Regal: 'The Barman' (starts at 03:06) - UK

The "famous actor in a subservient role" is a commonly used scenario (Denholm Elliot and John Gielgud as butlers in 1980 comedies spring immediately to mind) but has this conceit ever been used for such a noble purpose? After all, while Charles Dance is ostensibly suggesting that we can judge people by the way they behave towards those who serve their food and drink, isn't he also giving them a nudge in the right direction? Agency: Havas Worldwide Director: Adam Hashemi Jason Stone is the editor of David Reviews

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