Ricky Dimon
Following Sunday’s conference championship games, the Super Bowl matchup is set: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles.
Although it is an intriguing matchup between what are without question 2 of the best teams in football, it certainly isn’t what most of America wanted to see. The Chiefs win all the time and the Eagles have done more than their fair share of winning in recent years, as well. Moreover, we just saw this exact same matchup in Super Bowl 57.
In other words, a lot of sports fans may be tuning into Super Bowl 59 on February 9 for a much different reason: commercials! Unless you hail from either Kansas City or Philadelphia, you might be more interested in the ads than the actual game. As such, it’s time to reflect on some of the most iconic commercials in Super Bowl history.
10. “Lost Dog” – Budweiser (2015)
How do you choose just 1? Budweiser has come up with all kinds of epic Super Bowl ads involving its legendary Clydesdales. In this 2015 spot, a dog is messing around in the back of a truck when it suddenly drives away. With his dog lost, the owner sends his stable of Clydesdales to find the dog. Naturally, they save it from a wolf and bring it safely back home.
9. “Where’s the beef?” – Wendy’s (1984)
Let’s go back more than four decades, when Wendy’s hit a home run with its still-famous “Where’s the beef?” phrase. Three elderly women are inspecting the burger of a competitors, one that has a massive bun and a very small patty. The women are miffed at the meat portion, wondering if it’s even there at all. “At Wendy’s you get more beef and less bun,” the narrator chimes in.
8. “Puppy Monkey Baby” – Mountain Dew (2016)
You could not have emerged from watching the 2016 Super Bowl without “Puppy Monkey Baby” being stuck in your head. Three guys are sitting around when in walks a creature with the head of a puppy, the torso of a monkey and the legs of a baby. It delivers cans of Mountain Dew Kickstart, which boast “three awesome things combined”: dew, juice and caffeine.
7. “Joy of Pepsi” – Pepsi (2001)
Pepsi has made the most of its Super Bowl spots with several memorable ads, perhaps the best of which–depending on the clientele–involved Britney Spears at the peak of her powers in 2001. Spears rips off her Pepsi and then–while scantily clad–breaks into a song a dance to “The Joy of Pepsi.”
6. “The Force” – Volkswagen (2011)
A kid used the force with great effect in this viral 2011 ad, channeling his inner superpowers to turn on the engine of a Volkswagen. After unsuccessfully trying his hand with the dishwasher, treadmill, family dog and baby doll, the kid ventured out to the driveway. After a couple of attempts, the engine was ignited–maybe just maybe with the help of the father’s car keys from the kitchen.
5. “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” – Reebok (2003)
Don’t sleep on the job at work, otherwise Terry Tate will get ya. A whole host of workers found that out the hard way, when Tate–played by actor and former USFL player Lester Speight–made sure there would be more slacking off at the office. Reebok’s spot features Tate absolute blowing up various people at work, after which he declares, “when it’s game time it’s pain time, baby!”
4. “Wassup?!?!” – Budweiser (2000)
Budweiser also hit the jackpot back in 2000, with a commercial that surely had every football fan walking around yelling “wassup?!?!” in the weeks–if not months–following the Super Bowl. Well, what was up with the friends who yelled “wassup!?!?” to each other in the commercial? They were just watchin’ the game and havin’ a bud. True. True.
3. “The Showdown” – McDonald’s (1993)
If ever there a slam dunk of a commercial, it was a 1993 McDonald’s ad featuring Michael Jordan and Larry Bird in the most epic game of HORSE ever played. The 2 NBA legends went head-to-head for Jordan’s Big Mac, the loser to watch the winner eat lunch. “Off the expressway, over the river, off the billboard, through the window, off the wall…nothin’ but net.”
2. “Budweiser Frogs” – Budweiser (1995)
Arguably Budweiser’s best-ever work is with its lovable frogs, who simply sit in a pond and chant “Bud” “Weis” “Er.” One starts with “Bud” and after a couple of croaks the “Weis” frog joins the part. Finally, the “Er” frog also gets into the game for a brilliant “Budweiser” cacophony.
1. “Hey Kid, Catch!” – Coco-Cola (1980)
It doesn’t get any better than this. We have one of the most well-known brands in the world (Coca-Cola), a legendary athlete (Mean Joe Greene) and even an emotional. A despondent Greene limps to the locker room following an apparent Pittsburgh Steelers loss when an unassuming kid offers him a Coke. Green first declines, but the kid insists. After the linebacker downs the entire bottle, he tosses the kid his jersey.
