At MFA, a fun show of British TV ads

For several years, the Museum of Fine Arts has screened annual compilations of winners of the British Television Advertising Awards. The screenings generate big crowds, and based on this latest batch it's easy to see why. For one thing, the commercials are a fascinating window on to another culture (who knew there was now a thing called Extra Cold Guinness). For another, the ways in which they're both similar to and different from US advertising offer a no less fascinating commentary on what we're used to seeing here. And, the best reason of all, a lot of them make for great viewing.

Consider, for example, "Elvis Introductions," a promotion for BBC Radio 2. Through the wonders of digital trickery, a resplendent King introduces a backup band that includes Stevie Wonder on keyboards and Keith Moon on drums, with guest vocalist Marvin Gaye. Never has "If I Can Dream," the finale from Elvis's comeback special, seemed so resonant a title.

Or there's "Pretty," for Nike, which follows Maria Sharapova from her hotel to Centre Court at Wimbledon. Everyone she passes - from doorman to line judge - sings a snatch of "I Feel Pretty," from "West Side Story." It's a funny gloss on how Sharapova markets her sex appeal; and it's that much funnier once we see her unleashing her forehand.

Neither ad would seem amiss on US television. (In fact, "Pretty" has already been broadcast over here.) The same can't be said of a series of commercials for Pot Noodles, featuring Welsh noodle miners. They're worthy of "Monty Python" - one of them features Gareth, the noodle-sniffing sheep - but they'd likely induce head-scratching on the part of American TV viewers. Nor might Madison Avenue be expected any time soon to come up with a Volkswagen ad where all the dialogue is in German (except for the phrase "horse's mouth"). And a Greenpeace ad that's an in-your-face to SUV users - it cleverly parodies "The Office" (the British original, of course) - is so politically pointed its being broadcast over here is unthinkable.

If these several dozen ads are any indication, celebrities and classic-hits theme music are less prominent over there. Shirley Bassey shows up in a Marks & Spencer James Bond takeoff, and the Monkees theme song peps up an M&S Kids ad (which looks rather alarmingly like a Target ad, minus all the red). That's about it.

Some of the companies or products are universally familiar: Coca-Cola, Toyota, Audi, Sony. In fact, globalization reaches new heights (or lows) in a Honda ad with a voice-over by Garrison Keillor (!): Imagine, a Japanese car company reaches British audiences via Lake Wobegon.

Many of the advertisers are uniquely British, such as the Royal Mail (a malfunctioning coffee machine disastrously demonstrates the difference between on time and late), or Marmite, that inedible paste made from brewer's yeast. The Marmite spot easily wins the truth-in-advertising award. It show a nursing mother eating a Marmite-slathered slice of bread. Clearly, baby does not approve: Projectile vomiting ensues (not something that shows up much in American ads). "You Love It or You Hate It," the slogan says. Did La Leche UK get equal time?

Mark Feeney can be reached at mfeeney@globe.com.