The Top 10 Everything of 2009

How do you sell insurance without bumming everyone out or boring people so much that they might actually welcome a catastrophic event? The folks who make ads for insurance companies seem to lean a little too heavily on our nonhuman brethren (geckos and Neanderthals, we're looking at you). But in this case, it works. Minimal dialogue, a mournful song and a shaggy, haggard, utterly adorable mutt fretting about his treasure all speak volumes. Travelers' other ad, with a flotilla of its signature red umbrella, has the looks, but this one has the personality.