The 25 Greatest Super Bowl Ads — and Their Secret Hidden Messages
Believe it or not, Madison Avenue has been pretty good at predicting the future through its Big Game commercials
It’s Super Bowl Week and that can mean but one thing. A nation which finds itself up in arms must gather ‘round bipartisan offerings of chips and salsa, and sit down for the year’s greatest television spectacle: Super Bowl commercials.
Some of the greatest TV spots of all time have first appeared during the Big Game, and you likely remember more of them than you think. But did you know that many of the most memorable ads contained secret hidden messages that predicted exactly what would happen in the year that followed?
Don’t believe us? Take a look at 25 of the greatest examples, and you’ll see what we mean.
1976 — Xerox Monk
What a world it was in 1976. Instead of Presidents using Twitter to incite wars with other nations, we were just trying to find a way to improve upon Gutenberg’s 1440 printing press so we could make a copy of something. Later that year Apple computers launched under Steve Jobs and Mike Wazowski, soon making copying as easy as A-B-Control+C.
1979 — Mean Joe Greene
On the surface, this was a benign and celebrated ad, but something more sinister was definitely going on.
Notice how the little boy had trapped a completely unsuspecting Mean Joe Greene in the tunnel while he was just trying to go about business? Just a portend of the hostage situation that would develop later that year in Iran.
Yes, Greene eventually enjoyed a Coke and a smile — just a classic Stockholm syndrome response.
1984 — Apple Macintosh 1984
Look, if you can’t figure this one out, you have never heard of the Cold War or read any George Orwell. This is considered one of the greatest commercials of all time, which might have been helped by the fact that it was directed by the same dude that did Alien and Gladiator.
(By the way, did Orwell happen to write a instruction manual called 2017? Asking for 325 million friends.)
1984 — Where’s the Beef
The U.S. hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles but many of the world’s top athletes were not there to compete and, not coincidentally, America dominated.
Where’s was the beef? Back home in the U.S.S.R., of course.
1989 — Bud Bowl I
In the good ol’ days, we tuned in to watch a bunch of animated beer bottles play ball, and there just happened to be real football in between. Here, Budweiser produced one of the first great stop motion ads, previewing the way Florida would stop all motion later that year for serial killer Ted Bundy.
1991 — You Got the Right One Baby, Uh Huh
In 1991, the U.S. launched Operation Desert Storm and then celebrated a ceasefire when Iraq and Kuwait agreed to peace. We never had problems in the Middle East again. Uh huh…
1992 — Cindy Crawford Pepsi
This commercial was about little boys wanting soda … with an American supermodel conspicuously in the background. Later that year, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was released, and featured a little boy lost in Manhattan running into a conspicuous American hotel tycoon. You can make the connection from there.
1993 — Michael Jordan / Larry Bird H-O-R-S-E
Jordan and Bird played the most epic game of H-O-R-S-E all time for a lunch at McDonalds. Later that year, Ty released Beanie Babies upon the world. Later that decade, McDonalds began a recurring Teenie Beanies campaign in which mothers dragged their children to the restaurant to stock up on plush toys the children were not allowed to play with. One of them was Spurs the Horse. Time is a flat circle.
1995 — Bud-Weis-Errrr Frogs
In March, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science somehow decided Forrest Gump should win Best Picture in a year that featured both Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption.
You may remember loving Forrest Gump at first, but things were a bit froggy then, and that’s been toad-ally cleared up now as you got older, Bud-weiser.
1995 — Pepsi Innertube Kid
We spent the rest of that year watching the O.J. Simpson trial and experiencing reality television for the first time and it totally sucked. By the time that whole ordeal was over, most of us probably wished we had been stuffed in a bottle and set adrift in an ocean.
1996 — Clydesdale Football
The majestic Budweiser Clydesdales kicked the extra point here, but they usually go for two. That July 5, scientists successfully cloned Dolly the sheep creating two of the same animal. Scary stuff.
1996 — Coke Guy Caught on Camera
Cheatin’ Heart?? How in the world did Pepsi know about the Clinton/Lewinsky affair when it was happening in 1996, even though it didn’t come to light until two years later? Greatest presidential subtweet commercial ever. Your move, 2017.
1998 — Tabasco Mosquito
Look, the summer of ‘98 was really hot. These are not all that hard, keep up!
1999 — Wasssaaaaaap
What’s up? Wazzzupppp? Are you kidding me? The Dow Jones Industrial Index was up, that’s what. Over 11,000 for the first time ever!
Sup with you? Nothin … just watchin’ the game… checkin my 401k and stock futures in an appreciating market.
True … true …
2000 — We Just Wasted 2 Million Bucks Monkey
After tens of millions of dollars and months of the campaign trail, hanging chads on a Florida ballot sent the 2000 election to an expensive and timely recount before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dubya in a split decision. What are you doing with your money?
2003 — E*TRADE Stock Baby
In 2003, babies were buying stock, Jordan retired from basketball to play baseball instead, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Gubernator of California. 2003 also featured the Budweiser zebra replay commercial, Michael Jordan playing himself one-on-one, and Terry Tate Office Linebacker. What a time to be alive!!
2006 — Magic Fridge
The magic fridge was back, and so was every movie ever made. 2006 saw the release of Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, Superman Returns, Big Momma’s House 2, Clerks II, Jackass Number Two, Basic Instinct 2, Garfield’s A Tale of Two Kitties, Final Destination 3, X-Men III: The Last Stand, and Scary Movie 4. No original movie idea was ever created again.
2007 — Kevin Federline Nationwide
In 2007, a young Barack Obama began campaigning for the presidency.
Life comes at you fast.
2008 — Doritos Mouse Trap and Bud Light Sausages
The 2008 writer’s strike cost us a lot of great television, but that didn’t prevent us from getting two of the funniest Super Bowl commercials of all time.
2009 — Doritos Crystal Ball
2009 saw the death of Michael Jackson, a successful nuclear launch test in North Korea, and the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. If you saw that coming in your crystal ball, you probably would’ve thrown it through the vending machine too.
2010 — The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now diamonds. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I’m on a horse.
In 2010, we got the original Old Spice guy and Justin Bieber. One out of two ain’t too bad!
2011 — Darth Vader Kid
In one of the biggest commercial foreshadows ever, the Darth Vader kid dominated Super Bowl headlines mere months before the world’s Darth Vader was captured and killed by SEAL Team Six in Pakistan. Let’s just be thankful bin Laden didn’t come with his own John Williams soundtrack.
2014 — Puppy Clydesdale Love
In 2014, a puppy and a Clydesdale found true love, and then Kim and Kanye got married. And Imma let you finish, but that was the greatest love story OF ALL TIME.
2016 — Puppymonkeybaby
WTF??
In hindsight, maybe we should’ve known 2016 would be the worst year ever.
