‘World’s Best Commercials’? Yes, but . . .

Although “The World’s Best Commercials 1993” (at the Nuart Sunday through Dec. 7) probably does live up to its billing, it becomes tedious pretty quickly. For all their considerable creativity and imagination, even the best commercials (selected from 4,700 entries) start canceling each other out when you’re hit with 108 of them in one sitting, adding up to a 73-minute running time.

Some generalizations are possible: dry or corny British humor does not travel well, sport shoes, jeans and soft drinks have the most dynamic--and often sexiest--promotions, Japanese commercials tend to be technologically oriented, and by and large public service announcements put across their messages most succinctly and directly.

In this regard, Manhattan’s Coalition for the Homeless deserves special praise as it has an array of street people--one individual after another--sing “New, York, New York” for a bitterly ironic effect and then concludes with the printed statement, “It’s Up to You, New York.” Without compare for sheer fun is Black Star Beer’s series of faked commercials in its own behalf reaching back to the beginning of TV.

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