The Most Iconic Super Bowl Ads
Apple’s most iconic Super Bowl commercial is almost 40 years old.
Super Bowl 57 is happening soon in the U.S., so it’s time for another barrage of multi-million dollar commercials. It’s been like this for a long time, and often what is successful during the Super Bowl carries over into what is successful in the real world.
Super Bowl commercials are there in part to attract the non-football-loving crowd, which is why they have to be engaging in the first place. It’s also why I remember so many advertisements, even the ones I wasn’t around to witness. Most ads are time capsules for a specific moment in pop culture history. Here are some of the most iconic Super Bowl commercials through the years—and if you think this skews a little millennial, I’m guilty as charged.
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Apple’s “1984”
Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer (HD)
In 1984, Apple was preaching about the relative uniformity of competing computer companies, namely IBM. This commercial—dubbed “1984" after George Orwell’s novel—is about bucking the trend and refusing to conform to the status quo. This ad is particularly iconic because it came out when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak managed the helm at the burgeoning Apple, Inc. Also, Ridley Scott directed it, which adds to its cool factor.
The vomiting E*Trade baby
E-Trade Superbowl Commercial w/ baby
I remember watching this ad for E*Trade at a friend’s house in 2008, not realizing the recession that was about to happen. Anyway, the E*Trade baby made it out just fine. He was invited back last year to reprise his role for another Super Bowl spot.
Monster.com reminds us we’re all cogs
Monster.com - “When I Grow Up”
I vaguely remember watching this ad in 1999, not realizing it was an outright allegory for capitalism. (I was really into boy bands at the time. That wasn’t on my mind!) Monster.com’s “When I Grow Up” commercial features adorable children telling us what they want to be when they grow up. All of them can only imagine themselves as cogs in the machine. At least there’s Monster.com to help them find their place.
Pets.com begs too hard
Pets.com Please Don’t Go TV Commercial
For the Gen-Zers tuning in, this commercial from 2000 is not only in the yearbooks because there’s a puppet, but because Pets.com showed what happens when tech startups rise fast and crash hard.
The premise of this commercial is a bunch of beloved pets begging their caretakers not to leave. But perhaps Pets.com should have begged its leadership to be smarter with the spending. Pets.com petered out in a mere nine months after going public.
Volkswagon’s “The Force”
The Force - Volkswagen Commercial
This Super Bowl ad from 2011 for the Volkswagon Passat is too cute to dunk on. Little Vader finds themself able to use the Force, but only with Dad’s car. That’s all thanks to the remote starting mechanism that was new at the time.
Paris Hilton makes me uncomfortable
Paris Hilton Carl’s Jr Commercial 2005
There are plenty of reasons to be uneasy about Paris Hilton. For me, it started in 2005, with the Carl’s Jr. commercial where she’s wearing that very McBling-era one-piece bathing suit while chomping on a Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger. To Paris’s credit, this ad slot solidified her iconic status as a mid-list celebrity.
Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, together
Nike Shoe Company with Michael Jordan & Bugs Bunny 1992 TV Commercial HD
Before Space Jam was even conceived of, Bugs Bunny was helping Michael Jordan shill Nike’s Air Jordans in this iconic 1992 Super Bowl ad. Watch it to see Bugs Bunny ram cartoon pies into the faces of burly men.
Croaking Budweiser frogs
1995 Super Bowl Commercial “Bud” “Weis” “er”
I asked my partner, a Gen X-er, what he thought the most iconic Super Bowl commercial was. He immediately brought up the one that always seems to be at the front of his mind: the croaking Budweiser frogs (which debuted in 1995).
Wazzzzupppp
Budweiser Bud Light Whassup / Wassup / Wazzup Commercials: The Ultimate Collection (1999–2018)
Later on, Budweiser attempted to lure in the college-aged crowd to its budget beer with this annoying game of telephone. This campaign ran from 1999 to 2002. It was also parodied in Scary Movie.
Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”
Old Spice 2010 Ad: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
In the 2010s, Old Spice reminded us that men didn’t have to smell bad—neither did women, if they didn’t mind wearing Old Spice. Old Spice kept this campaign going well into 2015. It was later parodied in 2019 when actor Isaiah Mustafa, known as the “Old Spice man,” showed up in a Hulu ad referencing this particular campaign.
Britney Spears convinces us Pepsi is joyful
Britney Spears - ‘Joy Of Pepsi’ Commercial - HD 1080p
I’ll end this with my favorite Super Bowl commercial of all time: Britney’s “Joy of Pepsi” campaign, which debuted in 2001. Britney recorded a whole new song for this in her signature pop style. She reappeared later in 2004 alongside chart-topping hitmakers Beyonce and P!nk with a rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
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