NORFOLK, Va. — For many people, Super Bowl commercials are even more important than the big game.
The cost to get an ad on-air during the biggest football game of the year backs that up – from $700,000 in the mid-90s to a whopping $7 million today.
We consulted a thorough breakdown of the best of the best from Entertainment Weekly, which ranked the best Super Bowl ads of all time based on four criteria: Does it make us want stuff? Does it make us feel stuff? Is there star quality? Does it explain the product?
Here are the rankings.
#5: Budweiser’s “Bud Ice Penguin” from 1996.
It was a time when random humor was at its peak, and this odd submission was so popular it turned into a series of ads for the brand.
#4: It’s another Anheuser-Busch classic - the quiet, but effective, trio known as the “Budweiser Frogs” were featured during the big game in 1995.
#3: Third place goes to a commercial so popular it spawned a movie. In 1993, Michael Jordan met Bugs Bunny in Nike’s “Hare Jordan” ad. This led to the creation of the popular movie Space Jam.
#2: It’s one of the most successful companies of all time. Named after the year it was released, the Ridley Scott directed “1984” commercial for Apple is legendary, and it introduced many people to Macintosh computers for the first time.
#1: We go back to 1980. Coca-Cola’s “Hey Kid, Catch” featured “Mean” Joe Greene of that year’s Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers. The ad was simple, but effective, and remains at the top of many Super Bowl advertisement hall-of-fame lists.