Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine

Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine

Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine

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Top 10 greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time

While+millions+will+tune+in+Sunday+to+watch+Ray+Lewis+%28left%29+and+the+Baltimore+Ravens+battle+Colin+Kaepernick+and+the+San+Francisco+49ers+in+Super+Bowl+XLVII%2C+studies+have+shown+that+more+people+will+watch+for+the+games+commercials.+With+that+in+mind%2C+here+is+our+list+of+the+greatest+Super+Bowl+commercials+of+all+time.
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While millions will tune in Sunday to watch Ray Lewis (left) and the Baltimore Ravens battle Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, studies have shown that more people will watch for the game’s commercials. With that in mind, here is our list of the greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time.

The Super Bowl is about more than the two teams competing; it is an American tradition that has, over the years, evolved into a larger-than-life event for both fans and marketers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, last year more than 110 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl, and this year, the second year the game will be streamed online for free, that number is expected to increase.  With such a massive audience, the Super Bowl provides corporations with an unparalleled platform on which they can advertise their products.

In fact, Super Bowl commercials have become so popular that according to a 2010 Nielsen study, 51 percent of viewers prefer the commercials to the game itself and a study recently completed by BIGinsight for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association found that 25 percent of viewers watch solely for the commercials. However, this golden opportunity for marketers also presents a huge challenge.

Running advertisements during the Super Bowl has become an extremely expensive investment for companies. A 30-second TV advertising spot for this year’s Super Bowl will cost an average of $3.8 million, with some time slots selling for over $4 million.  Moreover, this extreme cost brings with it a great risk for companies.

Nonetheless, when they are spending millions of dollars on short advertisements, marketers have one common goal in mind: Make it memorable. Whether they are sincere, dramatic or funny, over time, the commercials that have been considered the all-time greatest are the most memorable. And with Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers quickly approaching, that got us thinking: “What are the greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time?” Here is our list:

10. Heineken – “Walk In Fridge” (2007)

One effective way to make a memorable Super Bowl commercial nowadays is to originally incorporate two things: beer and humor.  And this 30-second stroke of brilliance did just that, making it an instant classic.

9. Ameriquest – “Surprise Dinner” (2005) and “Bug Zapper” (2006)

Two of the most underrated Super Bowl commercials ever teamed up to memorably illustrate Ameriquest Mortgage Company’s tag line: “Don’t judge too quickly.”

8. Reebok – “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” (2003)

Introduced during Super Bowl XXXVII between the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this hysterically relevant commercial features one CEO’s unorthodox tactic to increase productivity in the workplace.

7. E-Trade baby – (2008-Present)

For E-Trade Financial Corporation, making one of the most notable Super Bowl commercial dynasties in history was as easy as taking an iPad from a baby. After the first talking-baby commercial was aired in 2008, it was so popular that E-Trade had to roll with it, and has been cranking out creative iterations to this day.

6.  Budweiser – “Respect” (2002)

The devastating attacks of Sept. 11 are indelibly etched in our nation’s memory, and while most Super Bowl commercials attempt to make you laugh, this 2002 broadcast was an unforgettable exception. Budweiser only ran its tribute once on television, so as to not benefit financially from it.  Moreover, just last year, Budweiser released a slight variation of the 2002 commercial for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, titled “We’ll Never Forget.”

5. FedEx – “Desert Island” (2003)

For those unfamiliar with the movie “Cast Away,” it was a 2000 drama in which Tom Hanks plays a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island with nothing but washed up FedEx packages to survive on (one of which he never opens).  This 2003 commercial pokes fun at the film, while humorously demonstrating how dedicated FedEx employees are.

4. Apple – “1984” (1984)

Advertised during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVII, “1984” was a minute-long spot that iconically introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer for the first time and denounced rival IBM.  The commercial is an allusion to George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which detailed a dystopian future controlled by a televised Big Brother (IBM).  This commercial was only aired once and is widely considered one of the most storied Super Bowl advertisements of all time.

3. Doritos – “Free Doritos” (2009) and “House Rules” (2010)

You can always count on Doritos to pull through with some entertaining ads come Super Bowl Sunday.  And as part of their annual “Crash The Super Bowl” contest, which allows consumers to create their own Doritos commercial, these two priceless masterpieces emerged.

2. Coca-Cola – “Mean Joe Greene” (1979) and “Troy Polamalu” (2009)

The original ‘Mean Joe’ commercial is, in the eyes of many, the best Super Bowl commercial ever made, starring former all-pro defensive tackle and Pittsburgh Steeler Charles ‘Mean Joe’ Greene. The 2009 version paid homage to the 1979 classic by comically introducing Coke’s newest formula: Coke Zero, with the help of current Steeler Troy Polamalu.

Here we go… The moment you’ve all been waiting for: the greatest Super Bowl commercial of all time.  Drum roll please…

1. Bud Light

That’s right.  Our number one ad isn’t just one commercial, it’s an entire brand’s advertisements, because Bud Light is the king of Super Bowl commercials. Whether it’s people stranded on an island, skydiving, breathing fire, or hailing a magic fridge, Bud Light has Super Bowl commercials down pat.  Every year they conjure up countless advertisements that dominate the field.  Beer has recently fueled advertising creativity like nothing else. And the profitable formula of beer and humor that Bud Light employs so effectively, once again results in a winning combination of memorable advertisements.  Bud Light successfully encompasses what the Super Bowl is all about in 30-second clips: having a good time.

Honorable Mentions:

Xerox – “Monks” (1977)

Pepsi – “Cindy Crawford” (1992)

McDonalds – “The Showdown” (1993) and “Check This” (2010)

Tabasco – “Mosquito” (1998)

Electronic Data Systems – “Herding Cats” (2000)

Sprint – “Crime Deterrent” (2006)

Audi – “Green Police” (2010)

Volkswagen – “The Force” (2011)

Chrysler – “Detroit” (2011)

In the mood for some more laughs? Check out some of these recent delights courtesy of the following Super Bowl commercial powerhouses.

Bud Light: “Rock Paper Scissors Beer,” “Wine and Cheese Party,” “Dog Training,” “Hitchhiker,” “Date Night,” “Jackie Moon,” “Fist Bump,” “Meeting,” “Class Mencia”

Doritos: “Pug Attack,” “Snack Attack Samurai,” “Mouse Trap,” “Finger Licking,” “House Sitting”

Budweiser: “Rocky,” “Streaker,” “Wazzup?,” “On the Roof”

Snickers: “Betty White,” “Do Something Manly,” “Logging”

Super Bowl Commercials By the Numbers 

According to The Wall Street Journal and ESPN:

111 million – the number of TV viewers from last year’s Super Bowl

46 – percentage of U.S. households who tuned in to last year’s game

$12 million – amount Chrysler reportedly spent on a two-minute ad last year (see honorable mentions), the most expensive in history

$1.7 billion – the amount Super Bowl advertisers have spent over the past decade

$228 million – the amount advertisers spent on last year’s game

$3.8 million – average cost of a 30-second spot in this year’s Super Bowl

$126,667 – average cost per second for the above advertisements

56 million – the number of views Volkswagen’s “The Force” (see honorable mentions) has on YouTube

Cost for 30-second spot over the years:

1967: $40,000                                                                                    1990: $700,000

1970: $78,200                                                                                    2000: $2.1 million

1980: $275,000                                                                                 2013: $3.8-$4 million

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About the Contributor
Kevin Dukovic, Editor-in-Chief
Kevin is a senior and joined The Viking staff at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.  He has an older brother (Brandon) who was also on staff and a younger sister (Anna) who is now a sophomore at Paly.  Kevin is a huge fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Yankees, seeing as how he grew up on the east coast, and enjoys playing pick-up sports games with his friends in his free time.

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