Just found an interesting site, adcritic.com which is a site that has compiled all the coolest commercials and movie trailers. If you click on the Top 100 link, you'll find a list of the 100 most popular video clips. Not surprisingly, this list is comprised of the funniest commercials that I can remember seeing, like the Budweiser Wassup? commercials (along with hilarious spoofs), and the trailers for every hot movie of the last six months. The Lord of the Rings trailer holds a very respectable position at number 32. Not bad for a brief look at a movie that won't even make it to the theaters for almost a year and a half! This is a great indicator that the LOTR is becoming a part of our cultural literacy.
Thanks to Sparrowhawk (what a cool name!) for that.