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NBC\u2019s late-night sketch comedy show\u00a0Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u00a0(SNL<\/em>) has been on the air since 1975 and is now celebrating its 50th season.<\/p>\n The show traditionally lampoons and parodies current events and cultural happenings, and over the years, they have created watercooler moments and captured the overall zeitgeist (even if it was best when you were young). So, it\u2019s little surprise that\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a0mines for comedy gold from products and advertising. A mainstay of the show is faux-mercials for made-up brands and goods, resulting in a comedic commentary on the stuff we buy and how we market them.<\/p>\n With five decades of history, however, there are countless segments to comb through, and picking some of the best\u00a0SNL<\/em>has produced over its long run is mostly a fool\u2019s errand. Still, I gave it the old college try. In choosing some of the most notable commercials, I focused on ads that feature a packaged product (that\u2019s kind of our deal, after all), which makes it all the more difficult to ignore examples of ads for\u00a0TV adaptations of video games<\/a>,\u00a0insurance<\/a>,\u00a0presidential candidates<\/a>, and\u00a0banks<\/a>. Who can forget the fast food spoof \u201cTaco Town<\/a>\u00a0or the Macy\u2019s children\u2019s winter clothes\u00a0commercial<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n