GETTING A FAMOUS director on board to promote your product is one way to get the message out there, but sometimes that message may not be as the company intended.

Here’s TheJournal.ie’s pick of the ads produced by some of the best-known directors around:

1. David Lynch, Parisienne Cigarettes

This is what happens when you get David Lynch, of Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet fame, to promote your cigarettes:

2. Spike Jonze, Gap

Jonze is best known for films with daredevil stunts or that are somewhat  weird. His destruction of a Gap store in this advert resulted in the company pulling the ad:

3. Michel Gondry, Smirnoff

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director suggests an adventurous approach to your night out with this vodka ad:

4. Michael Mann, Mercedes-Benz

Mann got  a bit carried away with this one and made what seems to be an entire mini-movie:

5. Wes Anderson, American Express

Just what has all this to do with using a credit card? Making movies is expensive? Directors like snacks? We’re still not sure:

6. Terry Gilliam, Nike

Terry drafted in the then-cream of Nike’s sponsored soccer stars alongside player-poet Eric Cantona for a football game inside a huge cage:

7. David Fincher, Adidas

The man behind Se7en came up with this gem, which involves a robot testing runners: