Super Bowl 2013: Greatest Commercials From Past Championships, List of Best Ads From Past Games Has Terry Tate and Budweiser

Feb 03, 2013 12:09 PM EST
Terry Tate the Office Linebacker
A picture of Terry Tate the Office Linebacker from the Super Bowl commercial. This is a list of the greatest and best Super Bowl commercials from past championships."

The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of the year, but it also the biggest day of the year for advertisers and media companies that produce commercials.

All the different companies that buy millions of dollars in advertising time are jockeying for position among consumers and are looking to be the hot topic on social media. Over the years there have been many memorable commercials that it is almost too many to count or even remember.

This year many brands and companies have started rolling out teaser ads for their commercials and while some have applauded the idea, others have been fairly critical.

Here is a list of some of the best Super Bowl commercials of all time.

-Mean Joe Greene, Coca-Cola, Super Bowl XIV, 1980

This is one of the most memorable commercials of all time and spawned an homage with Troy Polamalu a few years ago. The commercial from 1980 features Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene after a football game and a young fan who offers him a Coke. After a smile from Greene, he tosses his jersey to the fan and says "Hey Kid, Catch!" The line is now one of the most recognizable commercial tags ever.

The homage took place during Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, which also featured the Steelers. Polamalu starred in a commercial for Coca-Cola Zero that showed two Coke executives taking the Coke Zero bottle away when the kid was to give it to Polamalu, with Polamalu, who then tackling one of them and tossing the shit to the kid. The Greene commercial won a Clio in 1979 and is considered one of the most iconic Super Bowl ads.

- The Force, Volkswagen, Super Bowl XLV, 2011

This commercial is a recent one, but it is easily one of the best of the past 10 years. The ad is for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat and uses one of the best and most successful franchises in history as a reference point.

The ad portrays a young boy dressed up as Darth Vader from the "Star Wars" films as he attempts to use The Force to start a washer and dryer, and to wake the dog and a doll. After his attempts don't work, he is surprised to discover he can start the car, though his father actually did it using a remote control through the window, showing off one of the great features of the car. The ad is simple and playful and the actor who played the kid did a fantastic job, even though he said he had never seen the "Star Wars" films.

The commercial features the iconic theme from the movie done by composer John Williams. The ad was released on YouTube one week before the television debut on the Super Bowl and reached nearly 10 million views before the game.

-- The Showdown, McDonald's, 1993

Two of the biggest basketball stars on the planet going head-to-head playing H-o-r-s-e for the ultimate prize--a Big Mac. Both players make a number of crazy shots, including an off-the-window ricochet shot.

Jordan starts things off by showing up to the shoot around with a McDonald's bag, which immediately sparks Larry's interest. Bird challenges Jordan to a game of horse with the winner taking the Big Mac. The only rule? Non dunking. After a number of easy shots, the two take more difficult ones, including from in the stands and from half court.

-Pepsi, Security Camera, 1996

This commercial once won the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter Poll and shows a Coca-Cola driver on security footage in a convenience store sneaking himself some Pepsi. Of course, things do not go as planned, as the entire fridge of drinks spills out all over the floor, exposing his treachery. The commercial ends with the line: "Nothing else is a Pepsi."

-Budweiser, Frogs, 1995

After this commercial aired everyone in every office in America started blurting out "Bud...Weis....Errrrr."

Croaking frogs saying "Bud...Weis....Errrrr." This was my junior year of high school and we didn't stop talking about this commercial for months. The three lifelike puppet frogs were aptly named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er" and were in a number of campaigns for the company. The commercial was directed by Gore Verbinski, the man who helmed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

-- Apple, 1984, 1984

This iconic commercial is known as one of the best ads ever, let alone just a Super Bowl commercial. The ad helped put Apple on the map and was directed by Hollywood star Ridley Scott. The commercial had the same type of feel as his film "Blade Runner." There is a Big Brother and propaganda element and the add was very edgy for the time. It aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.

- Reebok, Terry Tate: Office Linebacker, 2003

This is a personal favorite and one of the funniest and most creative commercial campaigns ever. The ads starred former USFL player Lester Speight as Terry Tata, the office linebacker who is sent in by Reebok to help increase productivity at the fictitious Felcher & Sons. This commercial has a ton of one liners that are just delivered perfectly by Tate, who also delivers devastating hits. Some include "Hi, Janice!", "You know you need a cover sheet on your TPS reports, Richard!" and "That ain't new, baby!"

-Budweiser, Clydesdales Playing Football, 2003

A simple and nearly perfect commercial, with a bunch of Clydesdales playing football. Of course a zebra is the referee. Simple and classic.

Get the Most Popular Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
© 2015 Sportsworldreport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

  • Get Connected
  • Share
  • Like Us on Facebook
  • @sportswr
  • Recommend on Google
Real Time Analytics