The Super Bowl has a massive global television audience. Here’s the top 10 Super Bowl ads of all-time.
The Super Bowl has become America’s Pastime. The event has become far larger than the game itself; it is a time when friends and families will gather to host watch parties. Throughout, advertisers will look to reach an audience that in 2024 boasted an average audience of 123.7 million viewers in the U.S. alone. With the average price now $8 million for a 30-second ad, one-of-a-kind spots that can become part of the cultural fabric of television are on the line.
Rating what Super Bowl ads have been the greatest in history is a bit like the Oscars. Services like Ad Meter gauge what is popular at the time, but as history has shown, like the Oscars, what becomes timeless isn’t always what hits with audiences right as it airs.
Art – and in this case, advertisements – is subjective. My Top 10 list may not be your list, but there shouldn’t be any glaring holes, other than the potential order of them. I encourage you to roast my list on BlueSky.
#10 – 2024 – Dunkin’s “The DunKings”
Let’s face it, if you were to say, “Give me one place synonymous with Dunkin’” most everyone would say somewhere in New England. Tapping into all things New England, Dunkin followed up their 2023 Super Bowl ad with a cast that saw the return of Ben Afflick and J-Lo, with the additions of Tom Brady, rapper Jack Harlow, and Matt Damon. It’s just campy enough and ad libbed enough to be truly funny as Ben tries to prove to J-Lo he can rap.
#9 – 2023 – Popcorner’s “Breaking Bad”
The idea of taking a fictional crystal meth making duo and turning into a Super Bowl ad may have seemed weird before the advent of Breaking Bad, but pulling together Bryan Cranston (Walter White), Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman), and Raymond Cruz (Tuco Salamanca) becomes Super Bowl ad history. Directed by Vince Gilligan, the ad is “Tight! Tight! Tight!”
#8 – 2010 – Google’s “Parisian Love”
Google was just becoming a search engine force in a competitive space when they aired their first Super Bowl ad as part of Super Bowl XLIV. Tapping into heartstrings and highlighting a series of search queries, it goes through someone falling in love with someone in Paris. With nothing more than a soundtrack and the searches that move from “translate ‘You are cute’” in French to culminating in “Long distance relationships” to “Jobs in Paris” to a flight to Paris, to churches in Paris to “How to assemble a crib.” The ad ends by simply having the graphic, “Search on.”
#7 – 1993 – McDonald’s “Jordan/Bird”
Knowing how competitive Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are, playing for a Big Mac and fries in the ultimate game of Horse, was – and still is – a fun romp. You know they came up with some of the shots. Having basketball as the centerpiece for a Super Bowl ad was a sign of how far the NBA had come. “Nothing but net.”
#6 – 1990 – Nike’s “Announcers”
“Are we on yet?” When Nike founder Phil Knight was introduced to Portland, OR-based ad agency Wieden & Kennedy, he made it clear that he didn’t want a Nike ad to look like an ad. When the sports footwear and apparel giant decided to do their first Super Bowl ad in 1990, what came out of it was a collection of some of the greatest sports announcers of all time. From Pat Summerall to Al Micheals to Don Cherry to Dick Vitale to Dick Enberg to Curt Gowdy to Harry Caray and more, it was a mind-blowing romp through play-by-play voices interspersed with clips of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Wayne Gretzky, John McEnroe, and more. How did Nike product make it’s way in? “Now a word from our sponsor.” Buy. The. Shoes.
#5 – 2011 – Volkswagen’s “The Force”
Admit it. Every one of us has tried to use the Force on one occasion or another. Maybe we can move that rock if we harness it. Tapping into the Imperial Death march and a small boy dressed as Darth Vader, he tries using the Force on the family stationary bike, the dog, the washer, and finally, a toy baby, the sandwich mom makes, and more. As dad pulls in the drive in his Volkswagen, he runs out to try it on the car. From inside, dad clicks the fob and starts the car. And one boy’s dream of the Force is realized.
#4 – 2000 – Budweiser’s “Wassup?!?”
Maybe the current generation doesn’t know the ad, but for nearly a decade after it aired, “Wassup?!?” became America’s greeting. Setting the stage are simply two guys talking on the phone while having a Bud and watching the game. Out of the kitchen, another screams “Wassup?!?” so “B” on the other can hear. What follows is a party line (remember those?) of friends asking “Wassup?!?” that to date is still hilarious. Simple. Fun. Effective. Classic ad.
#3 – 1979 – Mean Joe Greene’s Coca-Cola “Hey Kid, Catch”
OK, technically this ad first aired in October of 1979, but it engrained in America’s collective consciousness when it re-aired in 1980 as part of Super Bowl XVI. Greene is seen limping through the tunnel off the field to the locker room. A kid innocently asks if he needs any help. Greene declines, too proud to admit he’s in pain. The kid then says, “Want my Coke?” to which Greene finally relents swigging it back with a smile. As the kid turns and walks away, Greene calls back, “Hey kid” and tosses him his towel.
#2 – 2002 – Budweiser’s Clydesdales 9/11 Tribute “Respect”
In the wake of 9/11, the nation was raw with emotions as Super Bowl XXXVI took place just a few short months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings. Advertisers often go for hitting the heartstrings with Super Bowl spots, but how that would be done needed to be respectful in some fashion. Budweiser kept the ad free from any dialog. It simply showed the Clydesdales moving toward New York City, and in the end, simply having them kneel in the direction of what was once the World Trade Center towers with the graphic “We’ll Never Forget”.
#1 – Apple’s “1984” Ad For Macintosh
It’s considered the greatest Super Bowl ad of all time by many, and for good reason. To this day it is a textbook example of going against nearly every norm and set the stage for how people would view Apple products going forward. It was groundbreaking – at no point was any product shown or said only that “you’ll see how 1984 won’t be 1984” an indication of when the Macintosh would launch. Against the Orwellian setting, the mindless masses follow Big Brother, symbolically meant to be IBM, who had grabbed the early lead in the burgeoning personal computer sales market. Against this pale, dark world is a heroic, near-Greek goddess running from a horde of military-styled police. She wields a hammer which she pirouettes and throws into the screen of Big Brother shattering the façade and releasing the minds of the masses.
Honorable mention….
The NFL’s “100” ad. The NFL wouldn’t allow us to embed their ad. Still, it’s a fantastically fun romp you should watch. How many stars can you name?
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
