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Smartphone ads 2010: Clunkers and blockbusters

Some of the best, worst, and most bleah smartphone commercials of the year.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
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Jessica Dolcourt

With all the millions of dollars that manufacturers and mobile operators pour into advertising their flagship smartphones, you'd think more commercials would be hits. But we all know better than that. For every poignant or entertaining ad there are five more duds that fail to entertain, or elicit any sort of emotional response.

Take 2010, for instance. There have been few memorable campaigns, not all of them good, and many more that amounted to expensive TV noise. It casts a shadow on Apple's advertisers that one of the year's best commercials was an Internet-viral Jane Lynch parody of the iPhone 4.

So without further ado, we pass judgment on ads for eight seminal cell phones in the past year in our modified version of the Clio awards. Let the wild smartphone ad rumpus begin.

Best, worst cell phone ads of 2010 (screenshots)

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