Click here to watch "Celeb," the 2008 campaign's Best Advertisement.

Which ad from this campaign cycle boasts the best musical score? Who was the best supporting actor? What was the best animated spot? NationalJournal.com sifted through a seemingly endless collection of ads -- everything from the presidential campaigns to downballot races to third parties -- to pick the best of the 2008 campaign.

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Best Leading Actor

• Barack Obama For President: "American Stories, American Solutions"

Obama's overwhelming fundraising advantage allowed him to purchase 30 minutes of air time on seven networks the week of the election. But his ability to deliver a message that resonated with Americans made it worth the estimated $4 million price tag.

Best Advertisement

• John McCain For President: "Celeb"

Even though pundits dismissed this ad and scoffed at McCain for lumping Obama in with the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, "Celeb" spurred McCain's summer bump in the polls and became one of the race's most talked-about ads.

Best Advertisement -- Drama

• Tom Udall For Senate: "Humbled"

This spot, featuring an Iraq war veteran who lost his ability to speak but not his profound gratitude, might just move you to tears.

Best Advertisement -- Musical

• Barack Obama For President: "Don't Know Much"

Using a new take on a classic song to mock McCain's record on the economy and his ties with President Bush, this clever spot embodies Obama's ability to hit his opponents without being perceived as an attack dog.

Runner-up:

• Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association: "One Heartbeat Away"

A song underscores McCain's health risks as the ad reminds viewers that Sarah Palin would be "one heartbeat away" from the presidency.

Best Advertisement -- Comedy

• Freedom's Watch: "Welcome to the Unofficial Dept. of Peace"

Marshaling a VW van, tie-dye and drug insinuations against Mark Udall's Senate campaign in Colorado, this ad had to crack up even the most serious pols.

Best Advertisement -- Horror

• Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: "Brutal"

Viewers were so captivated by this environmental group's ad depicting an aerial wolf hunt that they donated thousands of dollars to keep it on the air.

Runner-up:

• John Kennedy For Senate: "Scary Mary"

Kennedy mocks his opponent, Mary Landrieu, for trying to scare voters, but we found the acting in this spot particularly terrifying.

Best Supporting Actor

• President Bush

The unpopular chief Republican made it into countless attack ads across the country. "Bush-McCain Challenge" by MoveOn.org Political Action was particularly entertaining: It used the theme song from "The Patty Duke Show" to pair up Bush and McCain in both their mannerisms and their words.

Best Costume Design

• Our Country Deserves Better PAC: "Dictators Mock Obama's Ignorance"

Fairly realistic depictions of despots like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Fidel Castro earned this ad the top spot.

Best Use Of "I Approved This Message"

• Kay Hagan For Senate: "Belief"

Hagan's ad was a response to Elizabeth Dole's "Promise," which accused Hagan of accepting money from an atheist group in exchange for unspecified political promises. An example of a response ad that was more powerful than the original, Hagan likely hit home with North Carolina voters for her defense of her religious beliefs against Dole's "false witness."

Best Animated Advertisement

• MoveOn.org Political Action: "Trigger Happy"

Spoofing Palin's fondness for hunting, this ad took the concept of the "talking head" to a whole new level -- using a talking moose to question Palin's readiness to be VP.

Best Special Effects

• Jim Slattery For Senate: "Hosed"

A giant Wall Street CEO hosing Americans down while he benefits from the bailout? This ad was an easy choice.

Best Foreign-Language Advertisement

• Barack Obama For President/Democratic National Committee: "El Sueno Americano"

Obama was able to win over two-thirds of Hispanic voters in the general election, perhaps due in part to his efforts to connect with them by speaking their language -- literally.

Best Make-Up

• John McCain For President: "Lipstick" (Web ad)

While this wasn't an actual TV ad, and it lasted only a few days on YouTube when it was first released (CBS claimed copyright infringement over its use of Katie Couric video), the whole lipstick-on-a-pig debacle made this spot the clear choice.

Best Cinematography

• John McCain For President/Republican National Committee: "Dome"

The ominous clouds that creep over Washington in this ad made the GOP's standard attack on big government more visually captivating.

Best Documentary

• Barack Obama For President: "Choices"

Obama's initial challenge in 2007 was to introduce himself to the nation and make Americans comfortable with him. Ads like this one went a long way in convincing a majority of voters that the Democratic candidate shared their ideology and values.

Runner-up:

• Kenny Hulshof For Governor: "Blessed"

The country roads, barking dogs and sounds of the country put the viewer right there alongside Hulshof in rural Missouri.