These are the funny, shocking, and/or controversial Super Bowl commercials that had everyone talking. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most iconic Super Bowl commercials of each year since 2000.
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00:00 "Here, watch. Free Doritos at the office today?"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:10 iconic Super Bowl commercials of each year since 2000.
00:13 2000. "Wazzup, girlfriend?" Budweiser.
00:27 Yep, it doesn't get much more iconic than "Wazzup?"
00:31 A pop culture sensation that was endlessly referenced and parodied,
00:34 this is the beer commercial to end all beer commercials.
00:38 The first one aired during Monday Night Football on December 20,
00:41 1999, and Budweiser made a special iteration for Super Bowl XXXIV.
00:46 Called "Wazzup, girlfriend?" it sees a man at home with his partner talking to his buddies in the
00:57 bar. It's a fun twist on the "Wazzup?" gimmick, toning down the volume while also introducing a
01:02 more gender-neutral tone for the big game. 2001. "Running with the Squirrels." EDS.
01:16 In 2000, EDS made a classic commercial called "Cat Herders," and they returned the very next
01:26 year with this absolute banger. A hilarious bit of advertising, it sees Spanish men who
01:32 typically run with the bulls in Pamplona running instead from a group of squirrels.
01:36 The humor comes not only in the goofy visuals, but also the genius tone discrepancy.
01:47 As tiny squirrels run down the street, people speak about all the harm they've caused throughout
01:52 the years. But the metaphor is apt, comparing squirrels to quick and nimble business competitors.
01:58 It's a brilliant mixture of hilarity and business savvy,
02:09 not to mention a classic Super Bowl commercial. 2002. "Now and Then." Pepsi.
02:21 Nothing screams early 2000s nostalgia quite like Britney Spears. And speaking of nostalgia,
02:26 this commercial plays on the concept in glorious fashion. Spears honors 50 years worth of Pepsi
02:32 advertisements, going through the ages and appearing in different time periods. We start
02:37 in 1958 with a cute, innocent Britney receiving a Pepsi in a malt shop. We then get surfing Britney,
02:47 hippie Britney, and modern Britney among some others. Not only is the commercial brilliantly
02:51 conceived, it's also creatively filmed. The costume changes, production design, and altering
02:57 styles of music are all delightful, providing a treat for both the eyes and ears. 2003. Terry Tate.
03:08 Office Linebacker. Reebok. FedEx's castaway parody is a classic, but this ad rivals What's
03:21 Up when it comes to iconic commercials. A revolutionary bit of advertising,
03:25 Terry Tate Office Linebacker is filmed in the style of a mockumentary,
03:35 with characters speaking directly to the camera. CEO Ron Felcher hires terrible Terry Tate to
03:41 increase productivity in his workplace. This means violently tackling employees who take
03:46 extended breaks and forget to put cover sheets on their TPS reports. This is slapstick at its best,
03:52 featuring lots of funny falls and bone-crunching hits. Humor and football? Now that's a perfect
03:58 Super Bowl commercial right there. 2004. Crossroads. Pepsi. Commercials often favor
04:07 creativity, and sometimes that means bringing in real people. In this fantastic Pepsi commercial,
04:13 a young Jimi Hendrix walks down a street in Seattle. To his left is a Pepsi machine in front
04:18 of a pawn shop. To his right is a Coke machine in front of an accordion store. Young Hendrix goes
04:23 for a Pepsi and spots an electric guitar in the window of the pawn shop, evidently spawning his
04:28 love for music. It's a great idea for a commercial and a brutal dig in the ongoing Pepsi-Cola wars.
04:39 Plus, where else are you gonna hear Purple Haze on an accordion?
04:43 2005. Beer Run. Heineken. There's nothing like a commercial with cinematic production values.
04:54 Such is the case with Beer Run, which aired during Super Bowl 39. Brad Pitt leaves his
05:03 penthouse apartment to get some Heineken from the corner store. An enormous mob of paparazzi
05:08 follows him, forcing Pitt to take some creative measures to get back home. If you're thinking,
05:17 this commercial is seriously well-directed, that's because it was done by the Oscar-nominated David
05:22 Fincher. This ad was actually the third collaboration between Pitt and Fincher,
05:27 following Seven and Fight Club. We'd say it's a solid entry in both of their filmographies.
05:32 2006. Secret Fridge. Bud Light. It was time for Super Bowl 40, and Anheuser-Busch brought out the
05:42 big guns to commemorate the anniversary. According to USA Today's Ad Meter, this was the most popular
05:48 commercial of the year, and for good reason. It's creative, hilarious, and completely charming.
05:54 A man stocks his fridge with Bud Light but fears that friends will drink it all.
05:58 So, he installs a revolving wall that hides the fridge and replaces it with a simple kitchen
06:03 table. However, the revolving wall deposits the fridge in the next apartment, and the grateful
06:12 occupants proceed to steal it all. It's a wonderfully creative advertisement, and the
06:17 image of the guys chanting for the fridge is an all-timer. 2007. Mouse Click. Blockbuster. Wow,
06:26 remember Blockbuster? The rental chain was still going in 2007, but competition was starting to
06:32 rear its head. Enter the adorable animals Carl and Ray, who were tasked with promoting Blockbuster's
06:38 new total access program. This was meant to compete with the burgeoning Netflix by offering
06:43 mail delivery. The funny gimmick is that movies are just one mouse click away, so the furry
06:48 creatures click and drag on a literal mouse in an attempt to get their movies. The animals are
06:59 adorable, the commercial is brief and comical, and best of all, it features an all-star cast of
07:04 James Woods, Jim Belushi, and Alec Baldwin. The Super Bowl always brings out the big guns,
07:12 even if their faces aren't seen. 2008. Carrier Pigeons. FedEx.
07:19 This memorable commercial marks the last in a string of Super Bowl appearances from FedEx,
07:29 but what a finale it was. A shipping company uses carrier pigeons to deliver their mail,
07:35 including some monstrously large beasts that carry the heavy items.
07:39 Unfortunately, these pigeons wreak havoc on the streets below, dropping large packages into the
07:44 road, picking apart trucks, and throwing cars with their massive talons. Witnessing the destruction,
07:50 the company's boss decides to switch to FedEx. It's just one laugh after another with this
07:54 commercial, from the reveal of the giant pigeons to witnessing their chaos.
07:58 Now that is how you go out with a bang.
08:03 2009. Free Doritos. Doritos.
08:07 Beginning in 2006, Frito-Lay launched the Crash the Super Bowl campaign, inviting amateur
08:15 filmmakers to make their own commercials. Winners would get a cash prize and their commercial would
08:20 air during the Super Bowl. The commercial was a huge success, and the company was
08:25 able to get a lot of people to watch it. For the 2009 iteration, Joe and Dave Herbert of Indiana
08:31 made Free Doritos. In it, an office worker asks his crystal ball for some Free Doritos.
08:37 But this crystal ball is actually just a snow globe, and he uses it to smash the vending machine.
08:54 The other employee later asks the crystal ball for a promotion,
09:00 resulting in a great bit of physical comedy.
09:03 Not only did this commercial win the contest, but it placed first on USA Today's AdMeter poll,
09:12 so the Herberts received a $1 million bonus.
09:15 2010. Betty White. Snickers.
09:23 This year, some companies released commercials online, like Old Spice with their classic
09:27 "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." But the big ones were still saved for the big game.
09:32 Another AdMeter winner, this commercial combines physical comedy with star power in the form of
09:37 Betty White. The tiny white plays contact football with a group of large men,
09:41 and she eventually gets taken to the ground in a brutal tackle.
09:48 We then learn that this is not actually white,
09:51 but a symbolic representation of a man experiencing hunger pangs.
09:54 It's a creative commercial that launched Snickers' iconic "You're Not You When You're
10:03 Hungry" campaign, a campaign that greatly increased the bar's sales.
10:07 2011. The Force. Volkswagen.
10:16 [Dramatic music]
10:20 2011 was filled with great commercials, like Doritos' "Pug Attack" and Chrysler's famous
10:25 M&M commercial. But Time magazine argued that The Force, quote, "changed Super Bowl commercials
10:31 forever." [Dramatic music]
10:37 Partially because of its popularity online before airing on the Super Bowl.
10:41 The spot features a little kid dressed as Darth Vader walking around the house and attempting to
10:45 use the Force on various objects. It all pays off when the boy attempts to start the Volkswagen.
10:51 His dad, encouraging his child's imagination,
10:53 starts the car remotely with his fob, and the kid is utterly mind-blown.
10:57 [Dramatic music]
11:05 It's adorable, it's funny, and yes, it's about Star Wars. What more could you ask for?
11:10 2012. Just My Shell. M&Ms.
11:14 The tiny chocolate candies made a huge Super Bowl comeback in 2012,
11:18 having not appeared at the event since 1998. As Ms. Brown speaks to two human women,
11:23 a couple of men nearby start giggling as they think she's naked. She corrects them,
11:28 stating that her outer shell is brown. Clearly, the red M&M did not understand this, as he shows
11:34 up, believes it's that kind of party, and strips off his red shell to expose the chocolate underneath.
11:43 This is richly imaginative, utilizing the style of M&Ms to hilarious effect,
11:47 and today provides viewers with a marvelous dose of 2012 nostalgia.
11:52 2013. Miracle Stain. Tide.
12:00 It was nice to see Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen in a Samsung team-up,
12:09 but nothing beats Tide's effort, an ad that is both hysterical and topical. A 49ers fan
12:15 spills some food on his white jersey, and the spill resembles football legend Joe Montana.
12:20 This sparks a media sensation, as fans from all over the country worship this shirt and
12:25 see it as some kind of good luck omen. Unfortunately, the man's wife,
12:38 who also happens to be a Baltimore Ravens fan, eventually washes the jersey and rids it of the
12:44 stain. The ad is greatly amusing, but it also had surprising parallels to the 2013 Super Bowl,
12:50 as the Ravens actually beat the 49ers 34-31. Ravens fans can thank the power of Tide.
12:57 2014. Puppy Love. Budweiser.
13:08 This beer company sure knows how to make a touching commercial. Super Bowl XLVIII saved
13:12 the best for last, with Budweiser's Puppy Love airing with just two minutes left in the game.
13:17 A dog is given up for adoption, but is separated from his horse buddy in the process.
13:21 Not willing to let his young friend go, the horse chases after the car and retrieves the puppy.
13:33 Animals, friendship, painful goodbyes, great music cues. Yep, this is a Budweiser commercial,
13:39 alright? This ad received universal praise, becoming one of the most liked Super Bowl ads
13:44 of the 2010s and winning USA Today's Admeter poll. Put a puppy in your commercial and hearts
13:50 are guaranteed to melt. 2015. All Powerless. Mophie.
13:59 This commercial rivals the Brad Pitt one in terms of cinematic values. In fact,
14:09 it's probably even better. A stunning achievement in filmmaking and visual effects,
14:14 it depicts an apocalyptic scenario on Earth. Viewers are treated to a number of startling
14:23 visuals, like a tree bursting into flames and a Ferris wheel rolling through the streets of a
14:28 city. We then learn that this is the result of God's phone battery dying. This fantastic
14:33 commercial is from Mophie, a company that makes accessories that boost battery life.
14:38 To be honest, we'd watch a whole movie about this concept. It's just that good.
14:42 2016. A New Truck to Love. Honda. 2016 was a big year for the Super Bowl,
14:53 as it was the show's 50th anniversary. While the Broncos clobbered the Panthers,
14:57 Honda made an all-time great commercial with A New Truck to Love. We're a sucker for singing
15:02 animals, and in this ad, a large group of sheep sing Queen's "Somebody to Love."
15:06 It's an enjoyable iteration of the song, and the visual effects are surprisingly great.
15:16 If you ask us, those sheep are really singing. The ad was meant to promote the new Honda Ridgeline,
15:21 which contains a fancy audio system in the truck bed. What better way to celebrate audio than a
15:27 little bit of Queen? 2017. Disruptive World. Wix.com.
15:40 The third Super Bowl commercial from Wix.com, this one featured megastars Jason Statham and
15:51 Gal Gadot. And Statham reunites with his transporter director Louis Leterrier,
15:55 who certainly knows his way around an action scene. That's on full display here,
16:00 as Statham and Gadot fight a restaurant full of bad guys while a chef happily works away on
16:04 his computer. As if the star power wasn't good enough, the commercial is also filled with quick
16:10 action and a number of fun stunts. Forgive us for thinking this was a deleted scene from the
16:15 transporter. 2018. It's a Tide ad. Tide. The laundry giant definitely won Super Bowl 52 with
16:34 their series of meta commercials. Blending humor with cleverness, Tide parodied the usual style
16:39 of Super Bowl commercials and essentially hijacked the entire broadcast. Mr. Clean dancing away?
16:44 Nope, just a Tide ad. A new Old Spice commercial? Nope, Tide ad. Yes, a new Clydesdale commercial.
16:51 Prepare the waterworks. Oh, nope, Tide ad. Not only were these commercials inventive and
16:57 ingenious, they ensured that viewers would always be expecting Tide. Is this actually a new car
17:03 commercial or is it just another Tide ad? Don Draper must have thought of this one. It's the
17:07 stuff of marketing genius. So, does this make every Super Bowl ad a Tide ad? I think it does.
17:17 2019. The Bud Knight, Bud Light. It's a beautiful day for a joust. Indeed. Nothing screams 2010's
17:24 pop culture quite like Game of Thrones. To promote the final season, Bud Light partnered with HBO
17:30 and created this commercial about a jousting event gone wrong. The Bud Knight goes up against the
17:34 undead mountain and is quickly taken off his horse. The mountain then pops his head like a balloon,
17:43 just as he did with Oprah and Martell. But just then, one of Daenerys' dragons appears and lays
17:49 waste to the event with a massive breath of fire. This commercial was fan service galore,
17:54 but we're certainly not knocking that. Heck, this 90-second ad was probably better than
17:58 the entirety of season 8. Ironic, considering that's what it's promoting.
18:04 2020. Back in the loop. Chrysler.
18:12 Everyone loves a little nostalgia, and that's what Chrysler provided in this charming 2020 ad.
18:23 Bill Murray appears in his very first national commercial, reprising his role as Phil Connors
18:28 from Groundhog Day. The commercial was filmed on location in Woodstock, Illinois, the same town in
18:34 which a majority of the film was shot. All the favorites are here. The Bed and Breakfast,
18:47 Ned Ryerson, and even the little groundhog that Phil, well, kills. But the commercial adds a nice
18:53 twist to the story. Phil instead bonds with the groundhog, taking it on various trips and having
18:58 the day of his life again and again and again. It's cozy, it's cheerful, and it has Bill Murray.
19:04 Basically, it's a perfect Super Bowl commercial.
19:07 2021. Alexa's Body. Amazon. COVID put a damper on Super Bowl 55, limiting in-person attendance to
19:19 just 25,000 people. But the show must go on, and thanks to the weekend and some more amazing
19:25 commercials, the entertainment never stopped flowing. Perhaps the most memorable commercial
19:30 comes via Amazon, as a woman envisions Michael B. Jordan as Alexa. Jordan is terrific in the role,
19:41 showing off his impeccable physique, reading a book in the tub, and seductively answering how
19:46 many tablespoons are in a cup. This is another commercial that should be turned into a feature
19:50 length film. We could watch Michael B. Jordan as sensual Alexa all day. 2022. Golden Memories,
20:07 Lay's. We mentioned the Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen team-up back in 2013, but that wasn't the final
20:15 collaboration between the two funny men. In this commercial from 2022, Rudd and Rogen reminisce
20:21 about their lives together, and all of these memories involve Lay's chips. According to Rogen,
20:26 Lay's approached him with this idea, which was probably meant to be sincere.
20:30 But Rudd, Rogen, and director Evan Goldberg took it in a rather insincere direction.
20:34 The memories get more and more outlandish, like getting kidnapped by a stalker,
20:44 fighting in a turf war, and moving into a haunted house. Rogen hoped that it would, quote,
20:49 "capture the kind of energy that his works exhibit." And to that end, we think he succeeded admirably.
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21:14 2023 - Walter White Makes Popcorners. Popcorners.
21:18 Man, talk about nostalgia. Super Bowl 57 contained a major surprise in the form of our old pals
21:28 Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Walt makes popcorners in the duo's famous RV, much to the
21:33 praise of the hungry Jesse. Walt and Jesse then show the snacks to Tuco, who violently demands
21:39 that they make seven different flavors. The commercial is an undeniable winner,
21:49 reuniting Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Raymond Cruz, and writer-director Vince Gilligan.
21:55 Not only that, the commercial is full of enjoyable Breaking Bad fan service,
21:59 including Walter's iconic "popcorners". It was really nice to see the boys back together.
22:09 Which of these is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
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