The Super Bowl became the must-see event for advertisers during the third quarter of the telecast of Super Bowl XVIII on CBS, when Apple Computer debuted a one-time-only advertisement for their Macintosh computer titled 1984, directed by Ridley Scott. As the Los Angeles Raiders routed the Washington Redskins, 38-9, the Apple commercial, not the game, was the most-talked about item around watercoolers the very next day. Since then, major advertisers have used the game, paying as much as seven figures (averaging US $3.1 million for one 30-second slot as of 2010[update], excluding production expenses) to showcase their work and generate buzz that many people tune into television's biggest event of the year just to watch the commercials, not just the actual game. For those reasons, USA Today started the Ad Meter, a poll that gives live responses per second of each commercial. According to the newspaper, ads by rule are limited to those shown during the game - from opening kickoff to the end of the game, excluding those shown at halftime or local commercials - are officially qualified for consideration in the Ad Meter survey.
| Year |
Advertiser |
Ad Description |
| 1989 |
American Express |
Actors Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey (both starring at the time on Saturday Night Live) go to the big game with credit cards - Lovitz with Visa, Carvey with American Express. |
| 1990 |
Nike |
Various announcers (Harry Caray among others) call a multisport event with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson. |
| 1991 |
Diet Pepsi |
When Coca-Cola pulled a humorous ad in light of the First Iraqi war, Diet Pepsi scored big with Ray Charles and others singing their "You Got the Right One, Baby" jingle. |
| 1992 |
Nike |
Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny (calling himself "Hare Jordan") go to Mars and team up to take on an evil basketball team fielded by Marvin the Martian, with the fate of Earth at stake. The spot served as the inspiration for the movie Space Jam. |
| 1993 |
McDonald's |
Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play an outrageous game of H-O-R-S-E throughout Chicago for a Big Mac. |
| 1994 |
Pepsi-Cola |
A lab chimp turns into a party animal at the beach after drinking soda. |
| 1995 |
Pepsi-Cola |
A boy on the beach tries to suck the last drop of Pepsi out of a bottle with a straw, sucking so hard that the backlash pulls him through the straw and into the bottle. His little sister then yells, "Mom, he's done it again!" |
| 1996 |
Pepsi-Cola |
A fictional Coke driver takes a can of Pepsi and the whole shelf of cans tumbles onto the floor in a simulated security camera footage, with the Hank Williams song "Your Cheatin' Heart" in the background. This commercial was chosen as the best ever ad in the twenty year history in a special survey of the previous poll winners in 2008. |
| 1997 |
Pepsi-Cola |
Computer animated grizzly bears do their Pepsi-inspired version of the Village People's 1970s disco classic YMCA. |
| 1998 |
Pepsi-Cola |
A skysurfer does aerial tricks with a goose, and they share a Pepsi afterwards. |
| 1999 |
Budweiser |
Two dalmatian puppies are separated at birth, and one becomes the mascot of the Clydesdale-driven beer wagon. |
| 2000 |
Budweiser |
Rex the Wonder Dog imagines chasing a Budweiser truck, only to blindly leap headfirst onto a mini-van. |
| 2001 |
Bud Light |
Cedric the Entertainer's dream date is ruined when he accidentally shakes a pair of Bud Light bottles which explode all over his girlfriend. |
| 2002 |
Bud Light |
A girlfriend entices her beau into bed with Bud Light, but he slides on the satin sheets and flies out the apartment window. |
| 2003 |
Budweiser |
Spoofing the instant replay challenge rule, a real zebra reviews a disputed call, holding up a football game between Clydesdale horses. One of the two humans watching calls the "official" a jackass, while the other, apparently oblivious to the epithet, seriously responds that it's a zebra. |
| 2004 |
Bud Light |
Two dog trainers outdo one another, until one dog bites the other trainer in the groin. This came in the midst of the aftermath of the controversial halftime show that year. |
| 2005 |
Bud Light |
A frightened skydiverJonny Lee making his first jump is enticed with a six-pack of beer, but it only makes the plane's pilot jump after it. |
| 2006 |
Bud Light |
A guy stocks his refrigerator full of Bud Light, and to keep his friends from drinking it, he installs it on a turntable. However, the turntable rotates into the apartment next door, and the guys inside are extremely happy to see the "magic fridge" return, even to the point of worshiping it. |
| 2007 |
Budweiser |
Computer-generated crabs idolize a cooler filled with Bud. |
| 2008 |
Budweiser |
Paying tribute to the 1976 Academy Award Best Picture Rocky, a Clydesdale is inspired by a rather unusual personal trainer to become a member of the hitch team for the iconic horse-drawn wagon: its dalmatian mascot. |
| 2009 |
Doritos |
In the first ever fan-generated commercial to claim top ranking, two men use a snow globe to grant their wishes. One throws it at (and breaks the glass front panel of) a vending machine and gets his wish for "free" Doritos. The other wishes for a promotion, but accidentally throws it at his boss's groin. The ad makers, Joe and David Herbert of Batesville, Indiana, won US $1 million in a promotion sponsored by Doritos owner Pepsico. |
| 2010 |
Snickers |
Octogenarian performers Betty White and Abe Vigoda play tackle football. |
2011
(tie) |
Bud Light |
Dog sitting. A guy sits intelligent dogs with a refrigerator full of Bud Light, and gets the intelligent dogs to cater a party for him serving said product. In a last shot, the dogs are playing cards with the guy picking up after them. |
| Doritos |
A boyfriend teases his girlfriend's pug with Doritos, closes and stands behind a glass door, causing the pug to run towards him, the pug knocks down the glass door to be on top of the boyfriend and gets the Doritos. This ad, because of the tie, was awarded $1 million from Pepsico, the second time in three years an ad created by online users won. |
