We made a list, we checked it twice, and once this goes to print, we'll probably find out who's naughty and nice. As is customary every December, we recently took a few (hundred) hours to sit down and review the work of the world's best production companies. Even in our commercial-addled stupors, we're happy to report that 2006 yielded some fantastic work; and so, without further ado, we present an alphabetical listing of 20 production companies that impressed us this year.

Read about Smuggler, our Production Company of the Year here: Still Free

ACADEMY FILMS
After a big 2005, London's Academy Films was on a roll again this year. Jonathan Glazer helmed one of the most anticipated spots of the year (Sony Bravia "Paint"), returned to music videos after six years away with a disturbing take on Massive Attack's "Live With Me", and capped off the year with the provocative Motorola "Red". Stellar spot work also came from Frederic Planchon (VW Polo "Angel's Day Off"), Nick Gordon (Nokia "Fame") and Walter Stern (Vodafone "Bubbles"), and Martin de Thurah nabbed best new director honors at the CADS. New faces included director Jason Smith (ex-Home Corp.) and music video commissioner Liz Kessler.

ANONYMOUS CONTENT
Although anchored by event spots from Joseph Kosinski (who turned out a pair of incredible machinima-aided pieces for Xbox 360's Gears Of War and Halo 3) and David Fincher, whose Motorola "Pebl" made its North American debut during the Super Bowl, Anonymous' reel ran deep this year. Malcolm Venville turned out a classy slo-mo confectionary for Nike ("Swing Portrait"), Mark Romanek delivered strong work for Apple and Aussie Garth Davis enjoyed a coming-out as an A-lister with epic spots for Xbox, Tooheys and Boots. Factor in the recent additions of Jake Nava, Rob Cohen and PES, and the Los Angeles-based prodco looks primed to stay on pace for 2007.

BISCUIT
Workaholic teddy bear Noam Murro might have spent a significant amount of 2006 building his feature film career, but that didn't stop him from also lensing an incredible 14 spots, among them big-budget extravaganzas for clients like Verizon and Nike. Elsewhere, Biscuit's Tim Godsall enjoyed a banner year of his own, lending his talents to three superb comedic campaigns for T-Mobile, Starburst and Holiday Inn, while Toronto's The Perlorian Brothers continued to pursue their own brand of blunted stupidity for Domino's and Milky Way.

BLINK
While resident ace Dougal Wilson had a typically strong year, the real story of Blink's 2006 came from its peripheral players, many of whom either advanced a few notches up the ladder or came from nowhere to make a major splash. In the former category: design trio Lynn Fox, who turned heads with a moody setpiece for Audi ("Spider") and later proved their hand at live-action with the superwoman conceit of "Crashes" for Axe. In the latter category: Aussie latecomers Family, who joined the prodco in time to make fun of limp-wristed Swedes for Ikea ("Testing") and Ben Hibon, whose stunning anime short for MTV Asia ("Codehunters") has future IP written all over it.

BOB INDUSTRIES
Much like 2005, this past year saw big news in the features department for Bob directors, with Davis Guggenheim's global warming doc An Inconvenient Truth reaping accolades and Dayton/Faris' Little Miss Sunshine reportedly taking in just under $60 million in domestic box office since its release through Fox Searchlight. Spot-wise, Dayton/Faris provided a show of hands for HP's "The Computer is Personal" campaign featuring such celebs as Jay-Z and Shaun White. Other highlights came from Blue Source's hilarious work for Whiskas ("Hank" and "Hubert") and Snickers ("Song"), and Alan White's "Ferris Bueller" for DirecTV.

EPOCH
His profile suitably tweaked by the critical success of his 2005 feature film Junebug, Phil Morrison enjoyed a nice little commercial run this year, bringing just the right touch to campaigns for Apple ("Mac vs. PC") and Volkswagen ("Safe Happens"). Elsewhere, comedy hotshot Matt Aselton rekindled his fruitful love affair with TBWA, New York for Starburst ("Ernie", "Factory") and Stacy Wall scored big with a sing-songy anthem for Pot Noodle ("Intro") and another handful of LeBron James vehicles for Nike. On the roster front, Epoch maintained an even keel, losing only David Preizler to upstart Serial Dreamer.

FURLINED

In its first full calendar year, the Blink-partnered Furlined grew more fully into its own, simultaneously establishing itself as a top-drawer comedic venue thanks to Speck/Gordon's still-hilarious riffs on Geico's indignant caveman and as a bringer of a distinctly more European, art-minded sensibility, thanks to Pleix's paint-themed work for Infiniti. In the new media realm, visual artist Charlie White turned out what many considered to be the best of the Adicolor campaign with "Pink", and then unceremoniously left the company. But with Pekka Hara, Douglas Avery, Vaughn Arnell, Ramon Bloomberg and Family among those added, Furlined ended the year much stronger nonetheless.

GORGEOUS
Pardon the pun - 'twas another gorgeous year for this London prodco, with golds at Cannes and the BTA and silvers at D&AD for Chris Palmer's "Cameraphone", Cannes gold for Frank Budgen's Xbox "Jump Rope", and a quite respectable third place appearance in the Gunn Report. But no resting on laurels here - Palmer's live-action recreation of The Simpsons open for Sky notched over 10 million hits on YouTube, making it the most-viewed commercial on the site. His other highlights included CDC "Sun" and Carlsberg "The Old Lions". Nice work for Levi's included Budgen's "News Story" and Tom Carty's "Straight Walk". And Vince Squibb joined the roster full time.