Greatest Commercials Ever Aired

Apple – "1984"

Directed by Ridley Scott and aired only once, during Super Bowl XVIII, a sledgehammer-throwing heroine smashes a Big Brother screen to announce the Macintosh. It's routinely crowned the greatest commercial ever made and set the template for the Super Bowl as an ad event in itself

Year Debuted: 1984Brand: AppleAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 10/10Lasting Legacy: 10/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 5

added by IJR

Coca-Cola – "Hilltop" (I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke)

A multicultural choir sings on an Italian hillside in one of the warmest, most disarming ads ever produced, and the jingle became an actual Top 40 hit. It defined an entire era of feel-good, aspirational advertising and is still cited as the emotional gold standard brands chase.

Year Debuted: 1971Brand: Coca-ColaAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 9/10Lasting Legacy: 9/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 3

added by IJR

Wendy's – "Where's the Beef?"

Clara Peller's crotchety demand became such a phenomenon that presidential candidate Walter Mondale quoted it in a live 1984 debate to mock an opponent. Three old ladies complaining about a skimpy burger somehow became the most quoted line in America that year. It's proof a singl

Year Debuted: 1984Brand: Wendy'sAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 8/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 2

added by IJR

Nike – "Just Do It" Launch

The 1988 campaign, kicked off with 80-year-old runner Walt Stack jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge, turned three words into arguably the most recognized slogan in global business. It reframed Nike from a running-shoe company into a philosophy brand, and the tagline has outlas

Year Debuted: 1988Brand: NikeAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 9/10Lasting Legacy: 10/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 4

added by IJR

Old Spice – "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

Isaiah Mustafa's rapid-fire monologue — towel drops, horseback, diamonds turn into tickets, he's suddenly on a yacht — became an internet sensation overnight and revived a brand many thought was dead. It spawned hundreds of personalized real-time video responses, one of the first

Year Debuted: 2010Brand: Old SpiceAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 9/10Lasting Legacy: 8/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 6

added by IJR

Budweiser – "Whassup?"

A group of friends greeting each other with a drawn-out "Whassuuup?!" became an instant catchphrase that spread through offices, playgrounds, and SNL sketches before internet memes existed. It ran heavily around Super Bowl 2000 and turned casual slang into a nationwide inside jok

Year Debuted: 1999Brand: BudweiserAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 3

added by IJR

Volkswagen – "The Force"

A tiny Darth Vader tries to use the Force on the family Passat, fails repeatedly, and finally succeeds thanks to a dad with a remote starter. Released online before the Super Bowl, it became one of the most-shared ads in history and proved a commercial could go viral before it ev

Year Debuted: 2011Brand: VolkswagenAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 4

added by IJR

Dos Equis – "The Most Interesting Man in the World"

Jonathan Goldsmith's deadpan absurdist backstory — "he once had an awkward moment, just to see what it feels like" — built an entire mythology around a beer nobody had heard of. The campaign ran for nearly a decade and turned a supporting actor into a cultural icon. It's a master

Year Debuted: 2006Brand: Dos EquisAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 3

added by IJR

Snickers – "You're Not You When You're Hungry"

Betty White gets tackled in a muddy backyard football game, then transforms back into a whiny teammate once she eats a Snickers. The platform proved so durable it's still running with new celebrity cameos over a decade later. It turned a simple hunger metaphor into one of the lon

Year Debuted: 2010Brand: SnickersAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 7/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 4

added by IJR

Geico – "Hump Day" Camel

A camel wanders an office asking coworkers to guess what day it is, only to be met with groans and one triumphant "HUMP DAY!" It became one of the most GIF'd and quoted ad moments of its decade, instantly recognizable even out of context. Geico's talent for turning mascots into m

Year Debuted: 2013Brand: GeicoAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 7/10Lasting Legacy: 6/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 1

added by IJR

E*TRADE – "Talking Baby"

A CGI infant dispenses blunt stock-trading wisdom and confesses a fear of clowns, dominating Super Bowl XLII watercooler talk the next morning. The baby became a recurring character across several Super Bowls, proving a single weird idea could carry a multi-year campaign. It's on

Year Debuted: 2008Brand: E*TRADEAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 6/10Lasting Legacy: 5/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 2

added by IJR

Budweiser – "Puppy Love"

A golden retriever puppy forms an unlikely bond with a Budweiser Clydesdale, set to a swelling soundtrack that reliably reduces Super Bowl viewers to tears. It became one of the most-watched ads on YouTube of its era, with hundreds of millions of views. Budweiser turned tear-jerk

Year Debuted: 2014Brand: BudweiserAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 7/10Lasting Legacy: 6/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 2

added by IJR

Always – "Like a Girl"

The ad contrasts adults performing exaggerated, mocking impressions of "running like a girl" with young girls simply running their hardest, reframing a put-down into a statement of empowerment. It became a landmark case study in purpose-driven advertising and reshaped how brands

Year Debuted: 2014Brand: AlwaysAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 5

added by IJR

Coca-Cola – "Mean Joe Greene"

A fearsome, battered Steelers lineman is softened when a kid offers him his Coke, ending with the iconic toss and "Hey kid — catch!" It became one of the most parodied sports commercials in history, referenced everywhere from The Simpsons to countless copycat ads. It set the temp

Year Debuted: 1979Brand: Coca-ColaAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 8/10Lasting Legacy: 7/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 3

added by IJR

Levi's – "Launderette"

Model Nick Kamen strips down to boxer shorts in a laundromat to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," reviving 501 jeans sales in the UK almost overnight. It's credited with single-handedly boosting boxer short sales over briefs, a rare case of a commercial shifting a

Year Debuted: 1985Brand: Levi'sAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 6/10Lasting Legacy: 5/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 2

added by IJR

Reebok – "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker"

A fictional NFL linebacker tackles slacking office employees mid-meeting, turning workplace frustration into slapstick spectacle. It went viral before viral marketing was a strategy anyone measured, spawning a cult character and follow-up shorts. Terry Tate proved a single absurd

Year Debuted: 2003Brand: ReebokAired in Super Bowl: ✓Cultural Impact: 6/10Lasting Legacy: 5/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 1

added by IJR

Guinness – "Surfer"

A black-and-white epic of a surfer waiting years for the perfect wave, set to Leftfield's booming score, plays more like a short film than a beer ad. It's routinely voted the greatest British advertisement ever made by industry polls. Guinness proved patience itself could be the

Year Debuted: 1999Brand: GuinnessAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 7/10Lasting Legacy: 6/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 4

added by IJR

Got Milk? – "Aaron Burr"

A history buff can't answer a radio trivia question about Aaron Burr because his mouth is jammed with peanut butter and there's no milk in the house, costing him the prize. The simple, universally relatable premise launched a campaign so effective it ran for well over a decade ac

Year Debuted: 1993Brand: California Milk Processor BoardAired in Super Bowl: —Cultural Impact: 7/10Lasting Legacy: 6/10Major Award Wins (approx.): 3

added by IJR