20 Memorable Super Bowl Commercials

One subject I spent a good deal of time on the last several months was commercials. However there is one special category I have yet to address-Super Bowl commercials! And since some of the ad’s I touched on last time were Super Bowl ads, and we’re a week away from the big game, this feels like this logical follow up.

It’s not a big secret that Super Bowl ads are a special breed. Since the big game is the biggest TV event of the year, the cost for an ad during that event is quite incredible. And since they’re spending so much money, and have such a large audience, usually advertisers go above and beyond to make an ad that is really special and memorable. Heck, there are people who watch the game JUST to see the ads! Well, and the half time shows. Do they always work? No sometimes the ads are either lame or just plain silly. But when it does hit the mark, you have an ad that people talk about the next day and never forget or tire of seeing.


Normally I would do my favorite ads, but  I’ve been watching these games since the 80’s, assuming I watched at all,  so I’m not going to pretend I really remember these ads (with some exceptions). Plus it’s tough to find clips on YouTube that aren’t spliced half hour blocks (and feel free to check those out if you want to see more). So, here are some examples of great Super Bowl ads I did find in no particular order and organized by the companies that created the ad.



Budweiser
This beer company set a standard for these ads, from the Clydesdale’s to the silliness of the Bud Bowl to the absurdity of those “wassap” ads. This is one that was very popular, though I don’t get why. Who remembers these?

Underrated Trek:Living Witness (VOY)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. But today we’re doing something different. Usually when I hate something on TV, I find that generally it’s unanimous. For example, I loathed the final episode of Seinfeld, and it didn’t take me long to discover I wasn’t alone. In Trek, everyone pretty much agrees with me about Sub Rosa. But every once in awhile I will hate something that it will turn out everyone loves! Did I miss something the first time around? Today in this special edition of Underrated Trek I am taking a look back at an episode of Voyager I HATED..and yet most consider it one of their best episodes! This is :

 

When I say I hated this episode I don’t just mean I found it boring or didn’t get it, I really did not get into this one at all! But in hindsight I was being way to hard on it. Let’s take a look:

 

A Look at Clothes That Reminds Me of TV and Movies

We talk a lot about things that remind us of movies and TV shows, from a theme song to a familiar prop or vehicle to even actors with expressive faces! But one other thing that often doesn’t get mentioned is wardrobe. Now, I don’t mean costumes or clothing intentionally meant to emulate a movie or TV show. I mean everyday clothes, which for one reason or another always makes us think of a character we love. Like how Hawaiian shirts remind us of Magnum P.I., or those colorful suits worn by Don Johnson on Miami Vice, or when a Fedora and leather jacket remind us instantly of Indiana Jones.


 




I realized while working on this most of these examples involve the introduction of the character. Funny how a small detail like that can make the character that much more memorable. Here are some examples :



Sunglasses

I always love our introduction to Marty McFly in Back to the Future. He is trying to rock out on Doc’s sound system, but a small overload sends him flying backwards. When he looks up he has those cool sunglasses on, and I always think of that scene when I do the move Marty does as he examines the mess he made. Whoa indeed.

Underrated Trek: Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy (VOY)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. What, I haven’t done one of these since Halloween?? Let’s remedy that! I talked last time about how Star Trek can be scary. But it can also be light and even funny. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it misses. Today’s actually worked! This is


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 This episode should have been so stupid, and yet the silliness works! This episode was fun to film, write, perform, and of course watch.  Let’s take a look:

Ten Favorite Music Star Soda Commercials

There was a time when soda companies would go all out with their advertising. They would be pretty impressive productions taking a popular artist and either using one of their newest hits to make big time commercial, or giving them an all new song that they could make a new household slogan. This doesn’t happen so much anymore (Kendall Jenner notwithstanding) but here are some of my favorite soda campaigns from the 80’s and 90’s.




Michael Jackson “Pepsi Generation”

This may be the granddaddy of these kind of commercials, I could be wrong however. When Pepsi landed the rights for Michael Jackson to star in their ads it was HUGE! This was the first as he did, and yes there is a story about an accident he had filming these ads but that is a story for another day.

Michael Jackson “Bad”

Now one thing I didn’t mention was that sometimes, this can be a bad a idea. The creators will rush the ad together without ever really hearing the song. And when the song is violent or religious (see next example) things can get a little sticky. Here is a later Pepsi ad Michael did which didn’t air long. How huge was this ad? It was in parts!