All Time Top 10 ads from Super Bowl

Individuals or companies alike – we all need to communicate our products or services via smart or at least well-liked marketing. One way of coming up with new ideas is to look at some of the best commercial ads ever produced. The commercials - past and present - demonstrate several marketing techniques we can apply elsewhere. Some ads are actually up to 30 years old but greatly appreciated work of art.

FYI Super Bowl advertisements cost about $2.6 million for a 30-second spot (2007/2008) so you might want to consider the sales effect before you decide to go for this audience.

The Introduction of the Macintosh (1984) - Steve Jobs wanted to launch the Macintosh with an inspirational commercial that was as revolutionary to the product itself. Apple turned to its advertising agency - Chiat/Day. The agency hired the best science fiction oriented director they could find, Ridley Scott, whose previous movie Blade Runner, possessed the visionary feel they were striving for. To Jobs’ surprise, the entire board hated the commercial. Panicked Apple ran back to Chiat/Day to try and get them to sell back the ad time. Chiat/Day, still enthusiastic about their ad, was very hesitant, and only managed to sell off 30 seconds. Rather than take a loss on the 60 second ad, Apple decided to go ahead and run “1984.” The spot ran during the Super Bowl and many witnessed the groundbreaking commercial. For the week following the Super Bowl, talk shows and news stations ran the ad dozens of more times, totally in awe of the production and vision. Apple received over $5 million in free publicity from these re-runs of the commercial. The ad was such a big hit that it was ranked as the top television commercial of all time in a 1999 TV Guide survey.

Coke's famous "Mean Joe Greene" (1979) - This TV spot was listed as one of the top ten commercials of all time by "TV Guide" magazine. Chances are you remember every line and camera angle, but can you name the two teams that played the same year? By 1988, Coca-Cola was voted the best known and most admired brand in the world. Still, Coca-Cola did not institute a uniform marketing program in each of its global markets. The company often tailored the flavor, packaging, price, and advertising to match the tastes in specific markets. This ad was replicated in a number of different regions using the same format but substituting famous athletes from those regions (e.g., ads in South America used the Argentine soccer star, Maradona, while those in Asia used the Thai soccer star, Niat).

E*Trade “Monkey,” (2000) - In the glory year of the dotcom ads, the online trader proudly blew $2 million on a spot featuring a dancing monkey. "What are you doing with your money"?

Terry Tate: Office Linebacker by Reebok (2003) - TV commercials created by Rawson Marshall Thurber, for Reebok, based on a short film pilot he created in 2000; Tate was first shown at Super Bowl featuring Lester Speight as "Terrible" Terry Tate, an American Football linebacker who "gives out the pain" to those in the office who are not obeying office policies. It's easy to understand why the company's productivity has increased 46 percent--an extra minute at the water cooler and you're road kill.

Monster.com's "When I Grow Up" (1999) - This commercial was named to Time magazine's list of "The Best Television of 1999" (Dec. 20, 1999 issue). Born in the state of Massachusetts in the year 1999, monster.com is a great, popular website for employers and job-seekers alike.

McDonalds let Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play for a Big Mac (1993). Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a retired American NBA basketball player, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. Michael Jordan so dominated the basketball world that, for the second half of a pro career that spanned 1984-98, there was no debate about the game's supreme player. This shoot-out creates a lot of nostalgic feelings but it actually never revels who wins the Big Mac...

Herding Cats ad from EDS (2000) - "This man right here is my great grandfather. He’s the first cat herder in our family. Herding cats. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy." - you just read the intro. The producer recruited real cowboys and real cats and took them all to Tejon Ranch, 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

Tabasco smoking up a Mosquito (1998) - another way of telling your customers that your product lives up to the expectation of being HOT. This ad is simple, funny and violent. With no dialogue, no music and only two characters (including the exploding insect)...

Xerox assisting monks (1977) in facilitating copying many many years before you were born... This commercial has won every single award given by the advertising industry, including the Cannes Film Festival's Gold Lion and the first cash prize ever given by the New York Advertising Club. It also was judged by The New York Times to be one of the top 25 commercials of the 20th Century and is in the CLIO Hall of Fame.

The Budweiser Frogs (2005) are three life-like puppet frogs named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American television commercials for U.S. Budweiser Beer during Super Bowl XXIX.

Do you agree now that the Super Bowl ads are better than the game?

To wrap up this input session on how to advertise your products or services I would like to end with a great Condom Commercial - Enjoy!