The five most memorable Superbowl ads of all time.

It’s that time of year again. Superbowl Sunday is approaching quickly and that means hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on ads. With most major companies releasing sneak peeks of their ads this week, I decided to write about the 5 most memorable Superbowl ads of all time, along with what marketing strategies we can learn from them.

Before we start, you can view every Superbowl ad on USA Today’s Ad Meter. Beginning February 3rd, you can rate each ad for a chance to win their sweepstakes.

5. Apple: 1984

Arguably one of, if not the best Superbowl ad of all time, this commercial was debated over by Apple executives and was almost pulled before airing during Superbowl 18. Watch it for yourself below:

This ad has been analyzed and debated over for decades since it aired. It was designed to announce the launch of Apple’s new personal Macintosh computer, but came under heavy scrutiny by executives after noticing the computer was not featured anywhere in the ad. Creatives at Apple’s ad agency, Chiat/Day, argued that the days of needing to feature your product in a commercial were over, and that you could appeal to the simply by consumer entertaining them.

There are a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding this ad. One is that the board was going to pull funding for the commercial, but Steve Jobs offered to pay for it himself because he loved how different and outstanding it was. Another theory is that Apple planned on playing it one time, during the Superbowl only, to make it iconic and historical. The truth is, Apple had received a cease-and-desist notice from the estate of George Orwell for copyright infringement.

The concept of this ad was most notably derived from George Orwell’s 1949 novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four, which told the story of a dystopian society from the future ruled by a man on a screen. Chiat/Day’s inspiration came from this story of breaking away from social norms and refusing to conform to clone-like expectations. They made a great connection between this pop culture reference and the idea that not all computers have to be just another computer. Hint as to why Apple’s most popular tagline is “Think Different.”

While the knowledge of this pop culture reference is essential for truly identifying with and understanding the core meaning of the ad, it still proved to be groundbreaking creative that was like no other commercial ever seen before.

The biggest lesson we can take away from this commercial is that your marketing strategies, specifically advertising, does not always have to be conventional. Constantly finding new ways to appeal to your audience will keep things fresh and help you differentiate yourself from the competition.

A few other common themes that Apple pioneered for modern advertising is the idea of entertaining the viewer, not showcasing your product 100% of the time, branding, and thinking outside of the box. Making unique connections between pop culture references and your brand are a proven and enjoyable way to resonate with your audience.

4. Coca-Cola: ‘Mean’ Joe Greene (1979)

This ad is one of the most iconic commercials of all time. ‘Mean’ Joe Greene was a defensive player for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was known for his aggressive play-style. After watching this commercial, you can’t help but smile and crave a Coca-Cola.

This ad helped pave the way for popular celebrity appearances in commercials, not to be confused with celebrity endorsements.

Celebrity endorsements have been around since print magazines began, but Coca-Cola found a fun, entertaining way to show a famous athlete enjoying their beverage without giving a monologue about it. The end of the scene when Joe Green tosses the kid his jersey is one of the most memorable scenes in advertising. If Coca-Cola could make ‘Mean’ Joe Green so delightful he was willing to trade his jersey for one, who knows how happy it could make the average consumer!

This ad is lighthearted, humorous, and brought a smile to the faces of everyone who watched it. It has the uplifting, dramatic music of a classic commercial from the 70’s and will remain one of the best advertisements in history.

So what can we take away from this commercial? For starters, it’s never a bad thing to make your audience smile. But you have to really make them smile. A clever pop culture reference that is relevant to your viewer, a funny video, or an iconic partnership are all great ways to appeal to your audience and increase exposure.

Brands today are constantly seeking celebrity and athlete endorsements, but as a small business, that could be quite difficult. Luckily, there are social media influencers that love to try new products and services, especially if they are free. Reaching out to local social media influencers and offering them a free product, free dinner at your restaurant, or complimentary service in exchange for brand exposure is a great way to associate your business positively to a public figure.

3. E-Trade: Talking Baby (2008)

This commercial caught a lot of viewers off-guard. The adult voice coming from a baby talking about trading stocks was the highlight of the 2008 Superbowl commercials and is still remembered as one of the funniest ads today.

Babies and pets in commercials always catch the eye of an audience, most often for them to say, “Oh, how cute.” But when this ad aired and the baby started talking, laughter erupted from (probably) every room across the nation. The commercial continued, only to get funnier as the baby starts talking about stocks and how easy it is to trade using E-Trade. I can still remember the sound of my mom laughing every time this commercial was on tv.

This commercial was so successful, they ran parodies of it for years afterward. The talking baby made several commercial appearances and became somewhat of an icon for E-Trade. E-Trade is now one of, if not the most popular online site for buying, trading, and selling stocks.

A couple things that we can learn from this ad would include unexpected humor. A humorous surprise for your audience is almost always great for entertainment and allowing them to building a relationship with your brand. It can promote a positive, light-hearted brand image while also promoting your product or service.

Another thing E-Trade did very well was their ability to effectively and persuasively relay the idea that their product is so easy to use, even a baby can use it. This idea is then followed up with a statement of social proof, “It’s so easy, there are 1,000 new accounts a day.”

Lastly, appealing to the viewer’s “Oh, that’s cute,” side is always a plus. That’s why images of dogs and cats are so common on the internet and throughout commercials everywhere.

2. Snickers: Betty White (2010)

Snickers is well-known for their creative ads, but this one paved the way for a whole new campaign.

“You’re not you when you’re hungry” has become the battlecry for Snickers over the past decade, with different commercials featuring the same tagline along with a very convincing and humorous plot. Every year Snickers comes out with a new ad that tries to top the Betty White original, but no other year has come close. I would like to give an honorable mention to their 2020 Superbowl commercial, however. This ad was the epitome of 2020 and after the year we all had, I wish we could actually feed the earth a Snickers bar.

There are not many new elements or strategies we can pull from this ad, but applying celebrity features, social media influencers, comedy, and a clever script can go a very long way. If anything else, these ads should teach us that finding new and exciting ways to connect your brand to pop culture and illustrate a convincing selling point and benefit to your product or service is vital for connecting with potential customers nowadays.

1. Volkswagen: Darth Vader (2011)

Volkswagen is famed for their monumental ad campaigns over the past few decades. From print ads to tv commercials, this 2011 Superbowl spot gave us a look-back into why Volkswagen has been so dominant in the ad space since the 1960’s.

Everything about this ad made viewers fall in love with it. The father coming home from work and playing into his son’s pretend world of Star Wars gave the audience a warm-hearted feeling and genuine laugh as the boy believes he has The Force.

Never underestimate the value of bringing a smile to your audience’s face, especially when it involves (yet again) a very clever connection to a feature of your product. Authenticity from a brand is highly favorable among consumers, so never stray from your true values, but finding a way to incorporate humor, joy, fear, influencers/celebrities, shock-value, and brand/product promotion are essential keys to growing your business with effective advertising.

I wanted to list a few honorable mentions from brands that are always iconic. Before I go on, I would like to mention that DM Digital is now providing video production services for social media, digital ads, and eventually commercials. If you are interested in learning more, contact us at dmdigital.org/contact.

New York Life: Love Takes Action (2020)

Budweiser: Typical Americans (2020)

Kia: Melissa McCarthy (2017)

Tide: It’s A Tide Ad (2018)

Amazon: Before Alexa (2020)

Microsoft: We All Win (2019)

Google: Loretta (2020)

Doritos: Pug Attack (2011)