At Adblock Tester, we spend most of our time figuring out how to get rid of ads. But there are some ads you can’t skip, and some that you probably shouldn’t. Live broadcasts like the Super Bowl come with advertisements that are part of the experience. Some people even watch for them and discuss the ads the next day. So brands put a lot of effort into making their 30-second spot memorable.
When a brand gets it right, the ad can outlive the game itself. It becomes the thing you remember years later. It can be clever punchlines, or something strange and absurd that you just can’t stop thinking about.
We’ve put together a list of our favorite Super Bowl commercials that stuck with us and many others.
Our Five Favourite Super Bowl Commercials (And Why They Work)
Coca-Cola – “Hey Kid, Catch” (1979)
This one wastes no time. You’ve got “Mean” Joe Greene, bruised, limping, clearly not in the mood, walking off the field. Then a kid runs up, not for an autograph, not to fangirl, but to hand him a Coke. No strings attached. Greene gulps it down, softens up, and then, with a curveball, he tosses the kid his jersey.
It’s the perfect emotional arc: gruff to grateful, delivered in just 30 seconds. Joe Greene nails the transition from “don’t talk to me” to “you’re alright, kid,” and the boy’s pure innocence makes it land even harder.
Coca-Cola’s brand message here isn’t subtle: share a Coke, share kindness. It’s warmth in a cold bottle, with a payoff that sticks in your head for decades. It set a high bar for what a Super Bowl ad could be.
Apple – “1984” (1984)
A grey, lifeless crowd shuffles into a vast hall, eyes locked on a giant screen. From the side, a lone runner bursts in, swinging a sledgehammer. She hurls it into the screen, shattering the image and flooding the room with light.
Ridley Scott directed it like a short film, not a commercial. The heroine in bright gear breaks the monotony in both colour and energy, a visual signal that Apple wants to stand apart from the tech establishment, in the early 80s, that meant IBM.
For a single broadcast during the Super Bowl, it left a lasting impression. The ad cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to make; the board hated it, and Steve Jobs pushed ahead anyway. It didn’t just promote the Macintosh; it positioned Apple as the rebel in a world of obedient machines.
Volkswagen – “The Force” (2011)
A baby Darth Vader is stalking the house, testing his powers on the dog, the washing machine, and even his lunch. Nothing responds. Then a VW Passat pulls into the driveway. He marches outside, stretches out his hands, and the engine starts. Inside, his dad lowers the key fob with a quick glance at his wife.
The ad works because it feels real. The kid’s body language sells the frustration and surprise, and the parents play along without overplaying the joke. For the viewer, it connects to two things at once: the pop culture of Star Wars and the universality of a kid in pretend play.
VW kept the car secondary to the story, letting the moment be the hero, and releasing the ad on YouTube days before the Super Bowl made it a pre-game hit, with millions of views before the game even started.
Snickers – “Betty White” (2010)
A muddy backyard football game comes to a halt when Betty White gets tackled. The chirping starts, and she’s told she’s “playing like Betty White”. One bite of a Snickers and she turns back to a younger man, running down the field.
The humor works because it’s ridiculous in the best way. Seeing Betty White commit to a physical gag gives the joke weight, and the quick transformation ties back to the product. It’s a clean, self-contained story that can be played over and over without losing impact.
The ad launched a long-running campaign and made Snickers #1 in its category. And with Betty White’s passing in 2021, the ad plays differently. It’s still funny, but there’s a layer of nostalgia. It’s a reminder of her quick wit, her willingness to self-depreciate, and her ability to steal a scene in 2 seconds.
Mountain Dew – “Puppy Monkey Baby” (2016)
A living room scene opens up with three friends lounging on a couch, looking bored. Then you hear rattling and footsteps. Through the doorway shuffles something that’s hard to process at first glance: a pug head, monkey torso and tail, and baby legs wearing diapers.
It approaches, chanting “puppy monkey baby” in a cheerful but creepy tone, hands each of them a Mountain Dew Kickstart, and starts dancing. The guys get up, join in, and follow it out of the room as the music kicks in.
The ad’s strength is in the visual shock. No buildup or explanation, just immediate weirdness that forces you to keep watching. The chant becomes an earworm, and the sheer absurdity means you’ll be talking about it later.
Mountain Dew used the creature to mirror the product: Kickstart was part juice, part Mountain Dew, part caffeine. It’s not a natural combination, so they went full unnatural.
What Makes a Super Bowl Ad Work
People don’t like ads. We know that. And we help people block those ads. But why? Because most ads these days are lazy, and there are too many of them. Same templates, same celebrity endorsements with no real connection to the product, same YouTube prerolls you’ve seen a hundred times. Ads interrupt, annoy, and pull you out of what you actually came to watch.
Super Bowl commercials are different because they earn their spot. You don’t feel like you’re being ambushed in the middle of your show. You’re watching along with everyone else, waiting to see what ridiculous, heartfelt, or wildly overproduced ad shows up next. These brands know they’ve got one shot in front of one of the biggest TV audiences of the year, so they go big.
The ones that work have a few things in common: they grab you instantly, they’re worth your time, and they connect the creative to the product in a way you remember. And when an ad is actually good, no one’s reaching for the mute button.
Wrapping Up
Super Bowl commercials are competing for your attention in front of millions of people at the same time. They’re part of the event, something you expect and even look forward to, which is the opposite of how most advertising feels the rest of the year.
That’s why people don’t want to skip them. They’re designed to entertain, not just to sell. They can make you laugh, hit you with nostalgia, or drop something so weird you can’t stop thinking about it. Outside of the Super Bowl, ads rarely put in that kind of effort these days.
And for those regular, low-effort ads that follow you around online, that’s where tools like Total Adblock and AdGuard come in. They ensure you only see ads worth your time.