26 of the Funniest Credit Card Commercials Ever Made

Although it’s not a smart idea to choose a credit card based on a TV Commercial, advertisers will do their best to make sure you will remember the product they are selling. They want you talking about the ads around the water cooler at work, as it reinforces the brand name they are hawking.

One trick advertisers employ is to appeal your “humor receptors”. By showing your square eyes something quirky, spectacular, dumb, or downright bizarre they are guaranteeing they plant a tiny seed in your brain every time you chuckle. We are useless to resist so we might as well sit back and enjoy some of the funniest credit card commercials there are:

26. The Name's Bond. James Bond

Before James Bond took a darker turn, everyone's favorite lady-killer super-spy was played by Pierce Brosnan. This action packed mini-movie for Visa features insane tuk-tuk stunts on the streets of Bangkok and the delightful Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon fame.

25. Man Getting Hurt on a Treadmill

Nothing appeals to our sense of humor like seeing someone else get hurt. This Citibank commercial highlights the dangers of working out and features comedy basics such as man hitting head of solid object and the obligatory crotch shot. Can you say schadenfreude?

24. Breaking Wind in the Bath

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to garner a laugh is to employ the use of bodily functions. Virgin Money Australia apply this knowledge to the embarrassing situation of suffering from flatulence in the bathtub. Now that's low!

23.The Mothership Connection

We are all too familiar with the Mastercard Priceless commercials. They have done and parodied to death but that isn't going to stop them appearing on this list. Here's the first: Cute kids robot dancing to Parliament's Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)! What's not to like?

22. House of Flying Cutlery

She made a made a brief appearance in our first video, now here's the awesome Zhang Ziyi starring in her own Visa micro-epic. This ad features lots of martial art action, some great running across walls and a chef angrier than Gordon Ramsey.

21. I CAN HAS CREDITZ

Cute is funny and Capital One know it. This commercial advertises Capital One's Card Lab, a program that allows you to add your own custom image to your credit card. Even despotic intergalactic warlords can't resist the allure of fluffy kittens.

20. You Got Served.

Here we see tennis ace Andy Roddick facing off against Pong. It turns out to be a one-sided match. Pong starts well until Roddick cheats. The ball clearly bounces three times before crossing the line. Pong isn't even allowed to bounce any balls off the wall. Very unfair.

19. A Tribute to St. Vitus.

Kulula is a low-cost South African airline that offers it own credit card. They also have a funny commercial for it. Crazy idiots dancing around to Popcorn by Hot Butter, a guy with a fantastic mullet and the fun to say rhyming words Kulula Moolah this commercial has it all.

18. Bombay the Hard Way.

MTV is known for producing some odd promos but this one for the MTV Citibank Mastercard has got us confused. For a start it's designed for MTV India, our first stumbling block. After a couple of views, though, we are convinced it makes little sense even if we did understand it.

17. Jackie Chan and his Master Plan

In preparation for the Beijing Olympics Visa have produced yet another action packed commercial. This one stars the incomparable Jackie Chan doing what he does best, comedy kung fu and crazy stunts.

16. Licensed To Shill

What man doesn't harbor a desire to become a secret agent? Chase advertise their “fraud alerts” service via one man's fantasy in tracking down illegal use of his card. The great Bondesque homage also features the music from cult T.V. Show Secret Agent A.K.A Danger Man.

15. From Israel With Love

Advertisers must have a soft spot for 007. This commercial from Israel for the More card has a young Sean Connery look-alike testing out gadgets in the lab. As you can imagine chaos ensues with mildly amusing consequences.

14. 1001 Uses for Duct Tape

Our second Mastercard Priceless commercial features Richard Dean Anderson reprising his role as MacGyver. Naturally we see MacGyver escaping from situation using a variety of household items but, unfortunately, he is missing the mullet that made him famous. Remember kids this is a dramatization. Do not attempt!

13. He Makes the Best ******* Films

This American Express commercial for the Tribeca film festival features maverick film director Martin Scorsese. In the promo Marty is picking up some photographs from his nephew birthday party. He then proceeds to critique his direction of the photos.

12. Pete and Repeat

I'm sure you have all encountered those children that repeat everything you say. It's really annoying, but I recommend you try it on your colleges at work as soon as possible and see how frustrated they get. Virgin Money put this into comic effect in this commercial of co-works sharing an elevator.

11. Paul Newman Eats a Flower

You don't need me to tell you that Japanese commercials can be strange. Many American actors make commercials for Japanese TV, and this one for UC Fuji Card and features Paul Newman. In this ad Paul eats a flower and you are left wondering what does this have to do with credit cards.

10. God of Thunder and his Super Pals

What better protection could you have for your card than Marvel Superheroes? The Visa check card is protected by Thor, Captain America, Spiderman, Storm and Wolverine. If only that was true I would sign up in second and lose my card on purpose just to unleash the might of Mjolnir.

9. These Shoes Rule!

It's an undeniable fact that women love shoes. The more shoes the better. Although we are amused by the cheeky “as if” premise of this ad, we feel that the true message Visa is trying to get across is get our card and get more shoes. Remember ladies you really want to clear your balance at the end of each month.

8. Anthropomorphic Animals on a Spending Spree

Who'd have thought cute and fluffy guinea pigs are just as susceptible to mass consumerism as us humans? In this ad we see Egg vivisectionists conducting cruel experiments on genetically altered cavies to the delightful music of Raymond Scott for our entertainment pleasure.

7. How Not to Treat a Shelia.

Australia's ANZ bank knows that men can go overboard on a first date. But imagine what would happen if you took a date out for a meal and couldn't afford to pay for it? A credit card is fine if you have no money on you but if you can't afford a fancy meal you shouldn't be going out for one.

6.Homer's Oddity

America's favorite father, Homer Simpson, is the star of our third and final Mastercard Priceless commercial. While both the long running animated show and long running campaign are way past their sell by dates we can't resist the charm of Matt Groening's archetypal patriarch.

5. Monkeying Around

Next a double dose of cuteness from Visa. First up we have the sultry pensioner-loving Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Secondly we have a gang of mischievous right-turn loving Orangutans. The moral of this ad is the monkey mafia will rob you blind if you don't keep up with protection payments.

4. There's No Auteur Way

Director of mildly amusing comedy-dramas, Wes Anderson shills for American Express in this commercial. We are presented with a unique view of life behind the cameras as the Anderson walks us through the process of making a movie.

3. This One Will Throw You

A quick series of judo throws and it's done. This is for a Japaneses credit card the Saison Card International but we only know that because that's what it says at the end. It's another one of those ads that has left us confounded.

2. The Man with the Golden Pun

Yet another James Bond spoof had made the list. This British commercial for Barclaycard stars the guy who plays Mr. Bean. You might remember he made an awful movie called Johnny English, well this ad was the inspiration for that film.

1. These go to Eleven

Finally we have a spot for Discover Card. This is a spoof of the popular VH1 show Behind the Music and features the rise and fall of glam hair metal band Danger Kitty. It seems that Danger Kitty are still around and now go by the name Steel Panther.