For the longest time, when the NFC spent about a decade and a half kicking whatever stooge the AFC served up that particular year, the commercials were just about the only reason to tune into the Super Bowl. And the networks didn’t shy away from that, knowing that Joe Montana was going to throw for 12 TDs or the Cowboys would lead six seconds in and never look back or whatever else it was. The price of the 30-second ads was pumped throughout the media to make them seem like the event because we all pretty much knew the game wouldn’t be.
Terrell Davis and the Broncos changed the perception of the actual game, but the interest in the commercials has stuck. So before we see which companies have wasted enough money to solve our homeless problem forever, let’s look back at the ones that got it about as right as you can.
Perhaps the first “SUPER BOWL AD” in history, it announced Apple’s presence, and soon takeover, of the tech world. What most of these ads will have in common is simplicity of message, but a message that is loud and clear. A lot of Super Bowl ads get lost in their star power and production budgets, and you don’t even know what the fuck they’re saying or even what they’re advertising.
No such problem for “1984,” as it was clear that Apple was telling everyone that they were going to break the monotony and change the world. Which, as frustrating as it might seem now, they pretty much did. Now if they only could invent a laptop keyboard I wouldn’t destroy it with my purposeful and determined typing (and apparently very buff fingers?).
These aren’t in any particular order, but if we were doing this in order of most adorbs-balls it would almost certainly lead off. Because what kid hasn’t run around the house trying to move things with the Force? Shit, my editors do this on a daily basis to try and get me to do these fucking slideshows more often. I don’t know if a remote starter is that important, but it kept that kid happy for at least a month. Most parents would probably pay $20K for that.
Again, simplicity. It didn’t tell you much about Budweiser, but what the fuck is there to say about Budweiser? It’s cold and it’s wet. But this ad stuck in the mind, which is what all advertising is really aiming for. One of the rare Super Bowl ads that actually spawned an entertaining follow-up campaign with the lizards.
Let it go Louie, let it go.
I’m on a horse. I don’t know what else you need. If you need this kind of budget you might as well be silly as shit.
One of the rare times either one of these guys felt like they had a personality on screen. Relatable because we’ve all played Horse at some point, and we tried to come up with some pretty silly shit (I was a baster of the bounce from the free throw line, an admitted Horse special). Big budget because of who was involved, but a simple delivery.
There’s a pretty simple credo in the ad world, which is you can never go wrong having unsuspecting people getting totally poleaxed. Super Dave’s entire career was built on this corollary. Which is what Terry Tate did for a living. I suspect what it really touched was an inner fantasy of most people to be able to simply deck most of their coworkers when they never see you coming, and this allowed them to live them out. Another tactic I’m sure my editors have considered.
The rare time Bud didn’t use their collection of herd animals to make some stuffy and overblown statement on Americana or whatever else they ripped out of a Mellencamp music video. Never a bad idea to poke fun at your self-importance once in a while, which this did. And Budweiser remains simply cold and wet.
Again, simple and to the point. Stuck out because of its lack of budget, which also was sticking it to all the ads around it that had spent the GDP of Southeast Asia combined. You knew exactly who this was for and what they were telling you about what they were selling. But I still want to see the chorus line of kangaroos.
An ad is still effective even if all your friends doing it annoyed the piss out of you two months later. In fact, it probably did its job to the best of its ability if your friends are annoying the piss out of you with it two months later.
Some would tell you, especially in the industry, that this is the greatest ad of all time. It certainly sticks to the word of the day, simplicity, because any drunk yobbo on his couch in the 3rd quarter can follow along with what’s going on here and what Tabasco is trying to say. Also, you get to see a mosquito blow up, which seems like sweet revenge for most of us. It’s hard to imagine eating pizza without putting hot sauce on it now, honestly.
