5. Willie Nelson helps America with its finances
In this Super Bowl special, H&R Block mocked the idea that potential savers would consult the Willie Nelson doll rather than professionals like themselves. Given the state of the American personal finance market they might be be forgiven for getting the doll out of the bin.

4. Bob Dylan drives a Cadillac
At some point in the last ten years Bob Dylan realised that he could do very well by positioning himself as the living embodiment of the old, weird America, reading out somebody else's scripts on the radio and driving a humongous SUV around the byways of California and probably putting the money into his mattress.

3. Elvis Costello promotes Beethoven and thereby Lexus
If you're a rock star it's easy doing this kind of thing. Sometimes they don't require you to name the car or even drive it. You just sit in it and talk about the terrific music coming out of the stereo.

2. 50 Cent grabs every dollar while he can
Problem: how to make Vitamin water seem edgy and dangerous. Solution is as old as the hills. Take allegedly dangerous yoof hero and put him where the shirts are stuffiest. Get with it, grandad, all the kids are drinking coloured water these days.

1. Joss Stone explains a snap decision at some length
There's something in Stone's eyes that can't help appearing profoundly insincere, which makes her an odd choice for a product spokesmodel. If there is one thing worse than watching her penis-biting new ad for Cadbury's Flake it's this artfully constructed infommercial dedicated to explaining that it
all came to her in a dream. Had by her agent, probably.