Top Superbowl Ads

Watching the top Super Bowl commercials are one of the best parts of the Superbowl experience. Considering that the event lasts over three hours with an estimated fifteen minutes of actual game play, that's a very good thing. In honor of the best Superbowl ads' importance to the game, The Best Sports Blog wanted to take a look at some historically great commercials, the best ads of Superbowl XLIV, and what might be in store for Superbowl XLV on February 6th.

Great Ads of the Past

Ads have been part of the Superbowl since its inception. During the first televised Superbowls, fans would watch only a few short Superbowl commercials and the spots didn't even cost very much. Now, Superbowl ad space costs more than any other advertising medium in the world. During Superbowl XLIV last year, a thirty second ad cost anywhere from 2.5-2.8 million dollars. That means that Superbowl commercials cost enough to beggar any advertiser. Better make them good then, right?

Still, before looking at more modern Superbowl commercials, let's experience a 'blast from the past' and experience some of history's best all-time Superbowl ads:

Superbowl XXXV (2001): EDS Running with the Squirrels
The "Running with the Squirrels" ad is one of my all time favorites. The commercial was for EDS business associates but barely mentioned the company until the last five seconds. Instead, it focused on the fictional "running of the squirrels" event, which (if you believe the commercial) would be far more vicious than any Spanish 'Running with the Bulls.' It also fits with a common, and often successful, theme of Superbowl ads: Bridgestone's screaming rodent from Superbowl XLII (2008), the famous taco bell lions from Superbowl XLI (2007), and last year's fiddling beaver. Even ten years later, I will always remember the Running with the Squirrel commercial's mantra: it's not the big competitors you need to worry about, it's the smart ones that creep up on you.

Superbowl XL (2006): Bud Light Secret Fridge
There were a lot of good commercials from Superbowl XL, including a few others from the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser family. Budweiser's Clydesdale American Dream ad, where a young colt wants to become a part of the Budweiser Clydesdales, was a sweet spot that tugged at heart strings. But Budweiser's best commercial of the night was its first quarter spot called "The Secret Fridge" where a guy tries to hide his stash of Bud Light from friends but ends up inadvertently sending it through to his neighbor's friends. It was a short, funny spot and it may very well have been the last thing Seattle fans enjoyed that night.

Best Ads of Last Year's Superbowl XLIV (2010)

Google's Impress a Parisian Girl
This ad was not really "funny" but it was very memorable. In less than one minute, Google used visuals and search engine screenshots to show you "how to impress a French girl." But the real lesson was even simpler: Google can help you in any way and it is now a big part of almost every aspect of your life. Indeed, the ad was so effective that Google didn't need any other commercial spots during the game.

Doritos' House Rules
Even though I actually thought last year's commercials were relatively unimpressive overall, this was one of my all time favorites. As a man waits for his date to get ready, he sits next to her kid and tries to be friendly. But, when he goes for the boy's Doritos, he gets taught the House rules. The kid's reminder to "keep your hands off my mama and keep your hands off my Doritos" had me laughing for a good five minutes. In fact, when I was writing this article, I watched it again and it was still laugh out loud funny.

Upcoming Superbowl Advertisements
Upcoming Superbowl advertisements are well guarded secrets. As a result, no one knows what the best Superbowl TV ads will look like before the game. But we can tell you what companies will be airing ads during the game. Doritos, last year's star, will be back. Budweiser and Bud Light, perennial favorites, will almost certainly be back so make sure to look out for more Budweiser Superbowl commercials in Superbowl XLV. On top of that, Pizza Hut and Best Buy will debut their first Superbowl commercials even and BMV will return after a ten year absence. Here's to hoping that this year's commercials will be some of the best ever!

Check out our Steelers - Packers 2011 Super Bowl Preview and our list of the greatest Super Bowl Trivia Questions. Here's our Super Bowl XLV Review.

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