Top 10 Commercials that Will Make You Cry

Well, we weren’t expecting to begin an existential crisis from a commercial. Thanks a lot, Monster. The concept of this commercial is both brilliant and thought-provoking, if a little too hard to handle for some. We watch as a stork literally fights off wolves, crossing desert and ocean to deliver a baby to a happy couple. We then see the disappointed stork sadly watching the now-adult man in his dreary and boring office job. A caption then appears on screen – “Are you reaching your potential?” It’s a remarkable commercial, and one that isn’t afraid to dig deep into the souls and aspirations of its viewers, even if it leaves them a little depressed.

If there’s one thing that commercials can utilize to give us a case of the feels, it’s children. Well, that or animals, but we’ll get to more of them later. This Procter & Gamble commercial begins with sadness, as various mothers watch and console their bullied or disadvantaged children, while a downbeat cover version of The Five Stairsteps’ “O-o-h Child” plays in the background. However, the content takes a more upbeat turn when the music swells, and a proud mother is seen cheering on and congratulating her Olympic athlete daughter. The “love over bias” message is heartwarming and optimistic, and the various images throughout, both sad and happy, are sure to make any parent emotional.

This commercial for Cesar dog food is certainly an emotional roller coaster. It begins with morose piano while images of a man and his dog play out on screen. They do cute things together, like cross the street in tandem and drink coffee. However, the commercial takes a darker turn when the lonely man visits his a grave. It becomes upbeat again when the dog consoles the man and they return home to have dinner. The commercial plays on the universally tender notion of dogs being man’s best friend: the greatest cure for the loneliness. Dogs can do anything – even make us cry through the television.

You don’t see mobile telecommunication commercials like this too often. It begins with a child being reprimanded for stealing medicine for his sick mother before a kind man gives the angry proprietor money to pay for it and giving the helpless boy some soup. It then jumps 30 years into the future when the helpful man lands himself in the hospital. While his daughter initially struggles with the heavy bill she’ll have to pay, the debt is soon eliminated by the doctor, who is revealed to be the boy that the man saved thirty years earlier. It’s a touching and emotional story about kindness, generosity, and reciprocation - all wrapped up in a beautifully cinematic three-minute commercial.

Props to this marketing department: they somehow managed to find a story about the loss of childhood, the diminishing role of a parent, and the bond between a father and daughter, in a pack of gum. The commercial starts with a father making origami out of his pack of gum and giving it to his young daughter. We then see him give her more origami throughout the years (including the trying teenage ones), before the commercial ends with him discovering a college-bound box full of his creations. The ad speaks to the unbreakable connection between father and daughter, and reinforces the idea that this bond can never be broken, even in face of physical separation.

Budweiser sure knows how to sell beer. Like the origami commercial, this Budweiser “Brotherhood” ad explores the joyful pain of having kids (or horses) grow up. It tells the story of a man who raises a prized horse before reluctantly giving it to Budweiser. He then visits Chicago to see the Clydesdales parade, but is disappointed when his horse doesn’t recognize him. However, it then turns around and spots him, and that’s when the waterworks start. The image of the horse barrelling down the empty street is a little theatrical, sure, but it’s also painfully sentimental. Who hasn’t missed an animal, and who doesn’t immediately tear up upon a joyful reunion between two lifelong partners?

This commercial for pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer begins like a lecturing PSA, as a man runs around town spray painting various walls. He then returns home to his disappointed mother and sick sister. However, a little plot twist then occurs. Once he opens the blinds to his sister’s bedroom, we see that his spray painting was for a good cause, as he has painted an optimistic message on the walls visible from his sister’s window. The message is that we need more than medication to get better, including encouragement and love. It’s not a new concept by any means, but it’s told in a beautiful manner, complete with soaring music, good acting, and some spectacular artwork.

Yep, you knew this would be on here. While they don’t air as often anymore, these commercials were the bane of a TV watchers’ existence. They consisted of sad music while tales of animal abuse were voiced and forlorn animals stared into the camera, their eyes pleading for help. It even showed videos of injured animals, strongly inferred to be victims of abuse from their owners. While many people likely changed the channel when these ads came on, they were in fact hugely successful, raising $30 million in just two years. Sometimes you have to be blunt if you want to inspire change, and these commercials were as painfully blunt about animal welfare as possible.

Speeding is one of the most preventable causes of death, and this heartbreaking commercial makes sure that you know it. The commercial begins with dirge-like piano music accompanying shots of buildings and photos. It then segues to showing numerous people, most of them middle-aged or elderly, sorrowfully looking at pictures of their deceased family members. To cement its status as one of the saddest commercials ever, it finishes on close-ups of these crying individuals and the names and ages of the deceased. It’s a dispiriting and hopelessly bleak campaign, but it gets the point across and will definitely make you think twice about speeding.

Between our number one pick and their painfully sad “Forget Me Not” ad, it would seem that Thailand has truly mastered the art of making emotional commercials. Our #1 tear jerking commercial tells the story of a young girl who resents her father for being a mute and who is bullied for being his child. She then attempts to commit suicide, and her panicked father donates blood to save her life. It’s both a painfully tragic and uplifting story, elegantly told through spectacular wordless acting, narration and music. It also makes a very strong argument for avoiding network television while watching tv in Thailand... unless you’re looking for a good cry.