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While the football and the halftime show take center stage, the Super Bowl wouldn't be the same without the influx of big budget ads breaking up the action.
The 2023 Super Bowl takes place in Arizona on Sunday, with brands already showing off the TV ads which will be shown that day. Serena Williams has already teamed up with Michelob ULTRA, the cast of Breaking Bad are back for PopCorners, and John Travolta is singing Grease songs for T-Mobile.
While brands are each competing to score a memorable ad campaign, some have entered the Super Bowl advertisement hall of fame (according to the experts).
Newsweek spoke to marketing professionals to get their opinions on what they think are the best Super Bowls ads of all time.
1. Wendy's 'Where's the Beef' - 1984
"There are Super Bowl ads that are memorable and there are those that you never forget. 'Where's the Beef?' is one of those ads. The line instantly became part of the cultural vernacular and to this day it's still being used. The woman who said the line became famous. It spawned T-shirts and other swag that everyone wanted. It was a simple idea executed brilliantly. An ad that 40 years later still stands up, is iconic in my book."
Stephen Niedzwiecki,
Creative chairman, YARD NYC
2. Always 'Run Like a Girl' - 2015
"I wanted to choose a slightly unexpected one, because it really was an incredible ad at the time, and something we rarely saw from commercial brands at that point. For me 'Always, Run Like a Girl' is the best Super Bowl ad. Always used their platform to highlight some shocking research that showed just how early girls lose their confidence, and how girl/girly is so often used as a pejorative. For a brand that was about giving women confidence during their period to then use their platform to highlight a societal issue, was groundbreaking at the time.
"Creatively, the way it was filmed and put together was beautifully executed, and kept the viewer enticed to the emotional end. The multiple awards it won were well deserved, and the discussion it sparked in the creative industry, and in the wider world, led to a global awareness of these issues."
Clare Willetts,
CEO & founder of not only pink and blue
3. Google 'Parisian Love' - 2010
"Ok, I'm a sucker for a love story so anything romantic will make me sit up and listen. But what I 'heart' most about this Super Bowl ad by Google—from a professional perspective—is that it sells its service by telling a powerful human, relatable story—which is what great ads should do.
"Plus, it nails the brand's core promise to its customer (there's only one search engine you need to find everything and anything you want in life) and moves viewers simply and poetically, without using dialogue or humans! It also, brilliantly, keeps the client logo on screen at all times—and what brand doesn't want to see that! Creatively, it's first class."
Claire Robinson,
Founder of travel website weekendcandy.com
4. Pepsi 'We Will Rock You' - 2004
"The 'Pepsi, We Will Rock You' Super Bowl commercial featuring Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Pink, and Enrique Iglesias is a masterful piece of marketing and advertising. The combination of four of the biggest music stars of their time creates a sense of excitement that perfectly captures the energy of the Super Bowl.
"The commercial's use of the iconic song 'We Will Rock You' by Queen, along with visually stunning visuals, makes it a memorable and impactful piece of advertising that leaves a lasting impression on everyone watching."
Mark Goldman,
Marketing expert, Goldman McCormick PR
5. Apple 'Think Different' - 1997
"For its brilliant writing—'Here's to the crazy ones, The misfits, The rebels, The troublemakers, The round pegs in square holes...' It confirmed why you loved Apple (and still do), and for its prescience. It celebrated difference and diversity way ahead of the pack.
"Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Jon Carney
CEO of Warm Storm Creator Marketing
6. Budweiser 'Wassup' - 2000
"The best Super Bowl ad of all time for me is Budweiser's 'whassuuuuup.' The simple, rudimentary humor just hit the mark and reached a far wider audience than ever anticipated. You could question whether school kids obsessively sticking their tongues out and shouting 'whassuupppp' at friends across the playground, taking a tag line from an alcohol brand in 2023 could be viewed quite differently today in terms of advertising regulations, but if that was this year's ad I guarantee it would still have the same all-encompassing cut-through it did back in 2000. It just has the funny factor, no strings attached."
Catherine Warrilow,
Managing director of daysout.com
7. Apple '1984' - 1984
"Super Bowl viewers were overwhelmed by the startling ad. The ad garnered millions of dollars worth of free publicity, as news programs rebroadcast it that night. It was quickly hailed by many in the advertising industry as a masterwork. Advertising Age named it the 1980s Commercial of the Decade, and it continues to rank high on lists of the most influential commercials of all time [...] '1984' was never broadcast again, adding to its mystique."
Ted Friedman, as written in his book Electric Dreams: Computers in American Culture
Associate professor of Media Studies, Georgia State University
About the writer
Jamie Burton is a Newsweek Senior TV and Film Reporter (Interviews) based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more