The best Super Bowl ads tend to be those that, taken out of their time and context, still hold water.
Below, we’ve rounded up the 10 sexiest, most poignant, funniest, and most impactful Super Bowl ads of all time. Watch all 10 above, or individually, below.
10. Carl’s Jr., Paris Hilton, 2005
This isn’t the best, per se, but as Miss Hilton would say, it’s the hottest. The blonde heiress made everyone forget about fast food burgers as she stripped down to a sexy one-piece and gave a Bentley a hyper-sexualized scrub-down while munching on a Thickburger.
9. Dodge Ram, “Farmer,” 2013
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s probably why Dodge’s “Farmer” ad — which plucked its words from a 1978 Paul Harvey essay and a 2011 video made by Farms.com — resonated with so many. Throw in some huge production value, and you’ve got a mega-hit.
8. Budweiser, “Puppy Love,” 2014
Budweiser is known for its iconic ads (think: “Wassup?” and the croaking frogs.)
But it doesn’t get any cuter than Bud’s ad from last year’s Super Bowl, starring the beer brand’s hallmark Clydesdale horses and a golden retriever pup that dreams big.
7. Monster.com, “When I Grow Up,” 1999
This black-and-white ad, featuring chubby-cheeked children and angelic choral music, works well on several levels. It speaks to the universal question of what you want to be when you grow up, and — in a more adult sense — how you would get there.
Enter the first kid, looking at the camera saying, “When I grow up, I want to climb my way up to middle management.” Another chimes in: “I want to be replaced on a whim!” Monster surely touched a few nerves along the way, but the message came across loud and clear.
6. Chrysler, “It’s Halftime in America,” 2012
Inspirational music. Motor City nostalgia. Clint Eastwood’s gravelly rumbling message of hope. This ad — meant to rekindle excitement in the post-apocalyptic city of Detroit — ended up being so iconic that it was parodied not only by “Saturday Night Live,” but twice by “30 Rock,” first for a defective couch, then for rock-hard chewing gum.
5. Snickers, “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry,” 2010
In our eyes, Betty White can do no wrong, and as a football-playing octogenarian comedienne, she (and Abe Vigoda) are truly priceless as tag football players who are seriously off their game because they’re hungry.
4. Budweiser, “Bud-weis-er,” 1995
Imagine the pitch meeting for this now-famous ad. A mid-level ad executive paints the scene of three fat frogs perched on lillypads in a bayou. One croaks “Bud,” the next “weis,” — well, you get the picture.
Then the camera pans up to show a Budweiser sign! Silly? Undoubtedly. But an instant classic? You bet.
3. Pepsi, Cindy Crawford, 1992
This steamy ad that introduced the world to the new Pepsi cans (and re-introduced them to supermodel Cindy Crawford) is a classic on a number of levels. It has the classic set-up of two boys ogling Crawford as she exits a red convertible.
As she chugs her ice-cold can of Pepsi, they watch, transfixed. But it’s not her they’re looking at. “Is that a great new Pepsi can or what?,” one of the boys gushes. “It’s beauuutiful!,” the other agrees.
2. Budweiser, “Football,” 1996
It wasn’t the first time Budweiser debuted its now iconic Clydesdales during the Super Bowl. But the 1996 spot where a heard of the majestic draft horses starts playing contact football is one of the most memorable and iconic of the bunch.
1. Apple, “1984,” 1984
Is it even a contest? This dystopic ad for the yet-to-be released Apple Macintosh was directed by Ridley Scott and staring English athlete Anya Major, and shows an Orwellian future where people are forced to march in ranks and watch streams of propaganda on a giant screen.
Then, out of nowhere, Major runs in with a mighty hammer and breaks the screen, smashing the face of the man calling for “a garden of pure ideology,” that helped a generation “think different.”
Did we leave any out? Let us know in the comments!
