Admit it, the Super Bowls ads might just be better than the Super Bowl itself. We all get really excited to watch the new ads with our families and have a good laugh. So, as we approach Super Bowl 50, let’s take a look at the best ads of all time.
1. Volkswagen: The Force (2011)
This award winning commercial features a little boy who wants to be Darth Vader. He tries to use his “powers” on everything around him, and is disappointed when they don’t work. Then, his dad hits a button on his VW remote from inside the house and the car lights blink. Little Darth Vader is thrilled, and looks around in shock as Star Wars music plays in the background.
2. Pepsi: Your Cheating Heart (1996)
This ad was huge when it first came out. The Coke delivery man is in a supermarket putting his product on the shelf. When he is done, he looks around before he opens the refrigerator door and sneaks a can of Pepsi. But, when he picks up the can, all the cans from behind it fall out. Before he knows it, hundreds of cans fly off the shelf and onto the floor around his feet. Customers come running and look at him in confusion. Head down, he shamefully puts the can of Pepsi back on the shelf and walks out the door as fast as he can. The whole ad features the song “Your Cheating Heart” by Hank Williams. What could be better?
3. Pedigree: Get a Dog (2009)
This commercial is adorable, hilarious, and encourages people to adopt dogs. It shows a young man trying to play Frisbee with his pet bull, and a family trying to take a car ride with their pet warthog – things that people would normally do with their dogs. This ad is a gentle reminder that dogs make great pets, and to adopt one.
4. Doritos: Sling Baby (2012)
People will do anything to get some Doritos! In this ad, an innocent-looking grandmother and toddler grandson plot how to get the bag of Doritos from the older grandson. Grandma uses the toddler’s sling seat as a tool. She pulls him back, and he swings forward, grabbing the bag of chips from his brother. What will you do for a bag of Doritos?
5. Apple: Introducing Macintosh (1984)
The ad is as badass as it gets! In this legendary commercial, Apple lets the world know that its products will be different, and that the brand won’t succumb to conformity. It’s a pretty powerful message.
6. Snickers: Betty White (2009)
This ad is a classic. Betty White goes from being a Golden Girl to a tough football player, and gets some major slack from her teammates. Snickers uses its famous, “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” slogan, and Betty White turns into a man after taking a bite out of the candy bar.
7. Bud Light: Hitchhiker (2007)
This is probably one of the funniest Super Bowl ads of all time. A couple passes a hitchhiker by while driving. He is carrying Bud Light and an axe. The man wants to invite the hitchhiker into the car, and the woman freaks out. After the hitchhiker says that the axe is a bottle opener, the couple allows him into their car. Then, they all pass yet another hitchhiker while driving. This one is carrying Bud Light and a chainsaw.
8. Windex: The Birds (2006)
In this crazy commercial, two birds trick a man into thinking someone is at his door. While he walks to the front door, the birds close his back door. When he tries to walk outside into his backyard, he crashes dramatically against his back door because it’s so clean from the use of Windex.
9. FedEx: Carrier Pigeons (2008)
In this ad, a company is using carrier pigeons to deliver all of their mail. Then, things get crazy. This company uses huge, dinosaur-size carrier pigeons to deliver the big packages, and soon the pigeons are taking over the city and picking up cars in their beaks. So, naturally, the company switches to FedEx.
10. Kia: Matrix (2014)
This is actually one of the most expensive Super Bowl ads ever made. It cost $8 million to produce. Morpheus from the Matrix does not come cheap, but he’s worth it! In this commercial, Morpheus rides in the back seat of a new Kia as a man is driving with his wife. Morpheus proceeds to sing opera for them, and the streetlights break from his powerful voice. In just a minute, we are brought back to 1999 when The Matrix first came out.
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I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
