The Commercial rule is a rule to identify which commercials count and which commercials don't.
Commercial on its own.
If a commercial has a reoccurring character, such as Buzz the Bee (Honey Nut Cheerios), Flo (Progressive), Ronald McDonald (McDonald's) and/or interactive references to other similar characters or settings, then the product the character is the mascot of has their own page.
What if it doesn't have original characters, but they crossover with a series?
If a commercial doesn't have an original character, then it doesn't count. However, if two or more fictional series interact in the commercial, then it does count. These types of commercials will be categorized as Commercial Links.
Note that for a commercial to count, it still needs to be classified as fiction. If characters from different series meet in a TV bumper that has no narrative value, then it's just considered a showcase of the channel's programming and not a display of a proper fictional universe (This is an extension of the cover rule).
Here are some examples of what commercials count and what don't:
What does not count:
Blu-ray Commercial & Soundtrack
This commercial doesn't count, as it only shows various clips of fictional series.
Toyota Highlander - Big Game Ad Starring Terry Crews and the Muppets 2014
While this commercial does feature The Muppets, it does not include any original characters, so it doesn't count.
Movie Night with Casper the Friendly Ghost - GEICO Insurance
While this commercial does feature Casper the Ghost, and GEICO does have several mascots, this commercial does not include any of them, so it doesn’t count.
Cartoon Network USA Sign-Off 8pm (New Version, Full - 2019-present)
This Cartoon Network bumper shows various characters from the channel's shows, but they're shown in an implausible situation, with no real story being told, so it doesn't count as fiction.
Why not an EV? - GM x Netflix
While this commercial does feature many different Netflix series interacting with one celebrity, the celebrity is the only element where the interaction occurs, meaning the characters do not interact in a narrative with each other and does not count as fiction.
What does count:
Progressive Insurance - Sonic The Hedgehog
This commercial counts, as original characters interact with other characters from another series; in this case, Flo and Jamie from Progressive meet Sonic the Hedgehog.
RadioShack Super Bowl 2014 Commercial 80s HD 720p
While no reoccurring characters appear, this commercial does interact with characters from several other series, which counts.
While we don’t see the Progressive characters directly interacting with Barbie characters, the setting of the commercial is at Barbie’s House, with Jamie also making reference to the fact that Barbie and Ken are his clients. This can be considered an arguable link.
Hello, Paramount - Ghostface Calls Paramount - Paramount Movies
While the characters shown interacting with Ghostface are merely reused clips from their own films, the clips are utilized in a way that act like a direct interaction. Despite this, nothing else is added to the clips for the sake of the commercial. This can be considered an arguable link.
Feeding the Ducks -30 - Fansville Season 7
While the Aflac Duck is interacting with random characters, they are part of a named fictional town owned by Dr. Pepper, so it counts.
