Every year in late January-early February Americans gather around their TVs to watch the big game. It doesn’t matter if they are football fans or just people who enjoy party food and entertaining commercials, they sit down in crowded living rooms and packed bars to watch the Super Bowl.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been revisiting some of our favorite Super Bowl commercials from the past 50-plus years. Some have a party atmosphere, some are attention getting and silly, others are clever and funny, and some star big name celebrities. Here we conclude our look back at memorable Super Bowl commercials (though there are plenty more out there to enjoy).
“Monks” Xerox (1976)
Xerox delivered one of the early funny Super Bowl commercials with their Monks ad. In the commercial, a monk requests that another reproduce 500 copies of an important text. At first the second monk is dismayed – that is until he takes the pages to an office where those 500 copies can be made very quickly via Xerox.
“Hey Kid, Catch!” Coca-Cola (1980)
Coca-Cola brought together the toughness of football with the magic of childhood in their “Hey Kid, Catch” commercial. NFL player Mean Joe Greene enters the stadium tunnel visibly limping when a hopeful young fan tries to cheer him up by offering the disappointed Greene a Coke. To show his young fan gratitude, Greene tosses the boy his game-used jersey.
“Hotel in Space” Hyatt Hotels (1985)
Hyatt Hotels showed appreciation for the futuristic style of Star Trek with their “Hotel in Space” commercial. The sci-fi inspired ad shows people arriving at a Hyatt that has all of the amenities guests can find at the hotel, but in space with a beautiful view of the stars.
“Hare Jordan” Nike (1993)
The “Hare Jordan” Nike commercial starts when a group of lunkhead basketball players bullying Bugs Bunny, so he calls in reinforcements. NBA star Michael Jordan and Bugs take the bullies to the house, kicking their butts in a cartoonishly zany way. The commercial campaign was such a success that it led to the 1996 live-action/animated film, Space Jam, starring Jordan and Bugs.
“Wassup!” Budweiser (2000)
Commercials don’t have to be sophisticated to be good, as proven by Budweiser’s “Wassup!” ad. The commercial features a group of friends calling each other, for no reason but to say hello, but do so by shout/growling “Wassup.” The commercial was so catchy that for years after, people would greet each other with the phrase.
“Talking Babies” E*Trade (2008)
E*Trade created a commercial that was informative, cute, and funny with their “Talking Babies” commercials. The first ad introduces the smart talking baby who informs people about money they might lose through their 401K. Then he lets investors know what they could do with that money via snapshots of the baby having the time of his life.
“Betty White for Snickers” Snickers (2010)
American icon Betty White stole even more hearts with her Snickers commercial. The ad shows White playing football with a group of guys who notice that their friend Mike is “playing like Betty White” after he gets tackled. Betty-as-Mike eats a Snickers, which transforms the hungry man back to his more athletic self.
“Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice Battle” Pepsico (2018)
Pepsico went for the star power in a rap battle commercial over Doritos Blaze and Mountain Dew Ice. The ad features Busta Rhymes coaching Game of Thrones favorite Peter Dinklage while Missy Elliott coaches Oscar winner Morgan Freeman on their rap skills. The two actors then go head to head in a hot (and cool) lip sync rap battle over Doritos and Mountain Dew.
“Smart Park” Hyundai (2020)
Famous Bostonians Chris Evans, Rachel Dratch, and John Krasinski star in this humorous and informative commercial about Hyundai’s smart park. All three use heavy Beantown accents as Evans and Dratch watch while Krasinski uses “smaht pahk” to park his car in a tight parking space. Boston Red Sox great David Ortiz also makes a cameo in the ad.
“Not-So Clueless” Rakuten (2023)
Rakuten takes viewers back to 1995 with this Clueless homage starring Alicia Silverstone and Elisa Donovan. In an ad full of callbacks, the ageless actresses discuss shopping with Rakuten in debate class and Silverstone (as Cher Horowitz) visits her movie mansion, crashes her white Jeep, and shows off her ‘90s style.
Check out the Memorable Super Bowl Commercials Part I and Part II to see more iconic ads.
