As another heat wave hits New York, I thought this might be a good time to cool everyone off with a wintertime ad that gives me the shivers everytime I watch it, and, trust me, I've watched it quite a few times. In 30 seconds or less, the best ads can capture what a feature film often cannot in two hours. Sometimes all it takes is a single scene to create that quintessential romance, but these ads are rare diamonds (you will get my pun in a minute). Only the finest advertising filmmakers can craft a scene that has the weight of A Farewell to Arms or It Happened One Night behind it. Leave it to De Beers to come up with perhaps the most elegant, heartwarming TV ad...ever. Get your hankies out, folks:

It's extraordinary how this one just falls together: The lovely indie ballad, sung by Landon Pigg (unfortunate name, but not his fault) threads through this tranquil, sublime scene of the perfect couple—rich, good-looking, witty and charming without being arrogant—coming home from what was probably the best holiday party...ever.

I often fantasize about this party. It is likely at a mansion, in some Michigan suburb. The food is catered, and it's delicious; the wine is plentiful, rare and expensive; everyone there is beautiful, and they are eager to meet me—I am, after all, a star columnist at PostAdvertising.com. As I reach for yet another gourmet pig-in-a-blanket, I catch the eye of a gorgeous, Italian-looking brunette who stands alone by the antique soda bottle, which is made of gold, Greek medallions. I hold her gaze for a moment but quickly move on, convincing her I am not interested. She looks down, slightly embarrassed.

On the move, I walk the periphery of the room, all the while avoiding the masses that wish to speak with me. Sorry, Mr. Trump, no time; pardon me, Oprah, not now; could you please move aside, Jean Claude Van Damme? Finally, I am within striking distance of the Italian brunette—her back to me, she still looks sad. I sneak up behind her and, with a smooth swoop of my arm, present her with the pig in a blanket. "Excuse me miss," I say. "You look hungry." She is a bit startled, but in a good way. A smile graces her lips. "Oh, I was." She takes the treat and devours the entire thing. With mouth her full: "So very hungry."

This is what this commercial does—like Ralph Lauren, it gives us a fantasy of upper-class privilege and wealth. For 30 seconds we are part of their world, in a $100,000 BMW SUV, with a handsome, successful husband or a pretty prep-school-educated wife. We are with them as they kiss, when their world stops and the taxis pass them by, and perhaps we are with them later, as they make love. I know I was, and it was wonderful. It has long been my goal to convince the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to make a category for Best Commercial at the Academy Awards. This one would most certainly be a contender.