The 20 Best Allstate Mayhem Commercials, Ranked

You may not know the Allstate Mayhem commercial guy's name, but you know his wickedly snickering game. Dean Winters plays "Mayhem," the mischievously menacing star of Allstate's insurance campaign turned pop culture phenomenon. Each spot features Winters as Mayhem, taking on the role of a texting teenager, distracted tailgater, destructive animal — anyone or anything that could ruin your day if you don't have Allstate. Mayhem is the sassy, sardonic embodiment of Murphy's Law in a series of spots that have been warning customers about the true cost of "cut-rate" insurance since 2010.

If it seems like Mayhem is a part the rough, wry Winters was born to play, it might be because the role was written for him. Winters told Backstage, "Matt Miller, who created the campaign in Chicago, he had written the character of Mayhem for me because his three favorite shows were '30 Rock,' 'Rescue Me,' and 'Oz.' He took my characters from those three shows and created Mayhem." The TV-watching public (and sure, fine, insurance salespeople) are glad the role was created — and that Winters finally said yes to it, after initially turning the role down. "My smartass remark was that I became an actor so I wouldn't have to put on a suit and sell insurance," Winters joked to HuffPost Live. 

According to Winters, there are 116 Mayhem spots and counting. We've run our 20 favorites through a rigorous rubric judging each commercial based on laugh factor, destruction level, and how good the best line is. Batten down the hatches, keep your eyes on the road, and read on for the 20 best Allstate Mayhem commercials, ranked.

When you think of the Allstate Mayhem ads, maybe the awesome violence of nature comes to mind first. A bunch of wind, a tree branch, a terrible storm, wild animals — there are so many untamed elements that will destroy you and your ill-insured prized possessions the first chance they get. But there's another powerfully destructive force in the natural world: children. So God help you if you leave them unattended with a toilet.

The genius of this ad — and the entire Allstate Mayhem canon, of course — is they know Mayhem is all around us, and Mayhem can get weird. But no one can get weirder or wilder than children. The havoc kiddos can wreak on unsuspecting neighbors is the premise of "Kid in 5B." In this spot, Mayhem embodies the Kid in 5B who is "making it rain" in apartment 4B by gleefully stuffing anything he can get his hands on into an overflowing toilet.

Stuffed animals, toy planes, a disturbing amount of chemical products — Mayhem drives them deep into the belly of the toilet, and the renter's insurance heart of darkness. It's terrifying, it's snicker-inducing, and contains an excellent Mayhem-grade evil cackle. The best line isn't a line at all, but Mayhem spitting out a mouthful of toilet water at the top of the spot. Toilet water in the mouth of a destructive child: Truly, the champagne of fears.

Part of Mayhem's charm (and advertising power) lies in how he can use everyday activities — like searching for a lost phone — to prove that mayhem truly is everywhere. And that basically, mayhem is us. It's absolutely chaotic that people hunt around for dropped phones while driving. Mayhem and the divine Dean Winters take that chaos and feast upon it.

In this later-career Mayhem spot, Mayhem is a driver's phone, lost between the seats. He taunts the driver, and does a vocal version of an old-school midi ringtone that would do Winter's alter ego as Dennis Duffy, Beeper King of "30 Rock", proud. The driver fishes around for his phone so intensely that he takes his eyes off the road long enough to smash into the car in front of him. "Jackpot," Mayhem says, with the understated gusto of Dennis saying "Hey, Dummy" to Liz Lemon.

This spot has it all. It's gasp-worthy, gets a snicker out of you, and should put the fear of phone-hunting while driving deep into your mortal soul. And yes, we're totally counting the phone vibration noise Winters makes after he drop-rolls out of the car as the best line.

These days, "GPS" is a term the ancients used to describe the maps app that lives inside every phone. But back when this Allstate Mayhem commercial arrived on the scene, GPS units were separate gadgets entirely. They needed to be updated regularly. They behaved poorly in major cities or anywhere there was a lot of concrete around. Sometimes they directed drivers to turn head-on into lakes. And we, as a people, were wholly reliant on them.

This early Mayhem spot takes driver devotion to GPS and turns it hilariously on its head. Mayhem shouts out contradictory directions from his laid-back position in the console. He has a bandaged, bloody head which gives the impression that he's been at this awhile. Finally, he provides un-updated recalculated directions, and the driver turns right into traffic. Mayhem cackles gleefully. Another day, won!

Cars — and our foolish devotion to the gadgets in them — are often the focus of Mayhem ads. This one is still funny, a few modes of GPS later — and it's all down to the truth in comedy, and the evil glee of Dean Winters as Mayhem.

Mayhem always looks like he's gone a couple of rounds in the ring before he announces his current brand of disaster in an Allstate commercial. In this first-phase Allstate spot, he looks even worse for wear. He's got a lightly bloody bandage on his temple, double black eyes, and a grin that means we really should see the other guy.

The other guy in "Blind Spot" is, well, the average driver's car after paying for "name your own price insurance." Mayhem hangs off the side of the driver's car, announcing that he is a blind spot, and his job is easy: "to hide big things." The car spins out dramatically as it attempts to handle a hidden surprise, and after a primal scream, Mayhem rejoices at the damage done.

The spot comes higher up in the list because it's simple, effective, and something that drivers deal with every day, depicted with horrifying yet relatable humor. The best line here is Mayhem's extended scream, full of joy to contrast with the driver's terror. We always knew our blind spots were plotting to destroy us — at least Mayhem does it with flair.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The relatively recent "Car Replacement" Allstate Mayhem commercial is an even weirder, yet more relatable, take on the GPS gone wrong format.

In the spot, Mayhem is "all that techy stuff you got crammed into your brand-new car." His head is literally sticking out of where said techy stuff would be, and the driver is mesmerized by tapping and swiping his face like she's Tindering for her life. Of course, such "Black Mirror"-like obsession with tech can't lead to anything good. Soon, the distracted driver has crashed her car into a low-tech, yet highly effective, retention pond.

The times, they are a-changin', and Mayhem can't help but change along with them. He also can't help but fish while the driver desperately tries to free herself from the sludgy water. We're giving best line status to "I can do anything you want ... except keep your eyes on the road," as well as extra style points for Mayhem's classic wicked giggle as the driver loses control of the car.

Anything can be the enemy in a Mayhem commercial — including a bit of pleasant weather. This newer Allstate Mayhem ad takes a sunny day and makes it all seem worth investing in good insurance, because even sunny days can prove treacherous.

Here, Mayhem's introduction is also the best line in the spot: "I'm a warm spring breeze. I've got like, 7 billion fans worldwide?" He goes on to extol his own virtues while blowing dandelion silk off near a beautifully lit swingset. He cites the poets that want to write about him and the deodorant that wishes it were him — then walks over to a house's open window, and gently "blows" some loose paper towels into a hot burner making tea on the stove. Soon, the warm spring breeze is burning the place up — literally.

The world isn't safe. We know this, but still, it takes serious comedy chops (and gorgeous cinematography) to be reminded of this plain fact in a way that makes us laugh instead of cry. If you excuse us, we might just go and write a poem about it ... or about how good this Allstate Mayhem commercial is.

There was a time when Mayhem playing a destructive animal did not require the use of facial costume pieces — and the early-campaign "Guard Dog" ad was just such a time. This spot is silly, scary, and features Mayhem growling like a not-so-fearsome beast. It may not be at the top of our list, but it's truly 10/10, no notes.

The ad begins in a house at night, robbery in progress. Mayhem is the collared guard dog the house's owners left behind, and who the thieves bought off with a juicy bone. Mayhem "barks" once at the intruders. "Hey!" They freeze, and he delivers the spot's best line: "You guys are great!" The thieves get back to work, and Mayhem gets back to roasting the absentee owners for not having Allstate so they can better handle Mayhem — like him.

While this spot came out years before "John Wick" was a glimmer in Keanu's eye, we have to note that the lighting and fashion choices for Mayhem, along with the stylishly creepy face masks the thieves wear, bring to mind John Wick's world — and remind us that Dean Winters showed up in the very first film as a counselor to the ill-fated Viggo Tarasov.

Dean Winters has been playing Mayhem for more than a decade, and you know what? He's still got it. The "Bear" spot is one of the more recent entries in the Allstate Mayhem commercial canon, and it's like a cooler packed to the gills with treats. Treats, of course, that Mayhem's hungry bear is ready to absolutely crush.

Mayhem, as the bear, comes out of hibernation with a rumbly in his tumbly. "Papa is hungry!" Mayhem hollers, then proceeds to sniff a cooler through the cracked window of a car. Winters, as with everything he does as Mayhem, does it with his whole chest — then proceeds to rip the door off the car and go hard at the cooler and its contents.

It's physically aggressive, visually funny, and elevated to comedy gold status when Mayhem, mouth stuffed full of bread, excitedly tells the viewers at home, "I've got hot dog buns!"

Tailgating concerns loom large in the Allstate Mayhem ad cinematic universe, and this spot about a cheap bungee cord failing to hold 800 pounds of tailgating gear in place in a speeding truck is the perfect demonstration as to why. As hilarious as it is terrifying, "Cheap Bungee Cord" might strike a chord with certain viewers who play things fast and loose with bargain buy goods.

Mayhem sneers out at the viewer from the back of a speeding pickup stuffed with fan gear, all held together with what Mayhem is personifying today: A bungee cord from the gas station that would be "perfect for holding down the lid on a box of sweaters." As soon as the words leave his mouth, stuff starts flying off the truck and into traffic. A cooler, chairs, a grill — all are dust in the wind when a cheap bungee cord is entrusted.

The resulting street destruction looks like a scene out of "Mad Max." Of course, it brings Mayhem no small measure of glee. His final act, after taunting viewers to get Allstate, is to pound back a fistful of cheese puffs — before, of course, letting the econo-size bucket of puffs fly on the wind.

The best Allstate Mayhem commercial is one from the campaign's early days. It's simple. It's sharp. And it stars Mayhem as an eyeliner-wearing raccoon who will ruin your life and love every second of it.

Mayhem introduces himself as "the smartest raccoon I know." He makes a meal of home insulation. He has "like, four babies." He blows fuses. He scratches wood. He scratches pipes. He chews through the roof of the house and taunts the viewer through it: If they have subpar insurance, he won't just have won the battle. He will have won the war.

Then, he has the audacity to tangle himself in important-looking wires and cackle like the devil himself. It is an essential, and essentially perfect, Mayhem commercial. Dean Winters is at his physical and unhinged comedic best. The raccoon is both every raccoon, and a specific raccoon we wish could star in a "Nobody" style crime film. Winters gets us as invested in this raccoon as Allstate does the idea of insurance to handle Mayhem, like him.