Fishing on the Net

By Bonnie Nelson

Super Bowl Ads

Okay, so what did you think of the Super Bowl Ads? With so many memorable ad moments in the past 30 years, it’s now socially acceptable to admit you prefer the commercials and the half-time show to the game.

But the football “purists” will say they hate the ads. Then they talk as much about the ads as the game. A good Super Bowl might get lost in your memory, but a good Super Bowl ad will be embedded in your brain for years to come. Chances are you remember every line and camera angle from Coke’s famous “Mean Joe Greene” commercial from 1979. But can you name the two teams that played the same year? The rise in publicity for Super Bowl ads, big halftime shows and other off-field stunts are no accident. The game-watchers includes more women and men who don’t like the sport—just because of the ads and half-time show (http://www.sfgate.com/).

Records show that in 1967 Super Bowl ads cost $40,000. Today a 30 second spot costs around $2.7 million. Between 90-140 million people watched the Super Bowl at one time.

Here are my five favorite Super Bowl ads:
Frogs and iguanas and weasels - oh my! (1995): The Budweiser frogs (“Bud ... Weis ... Errrr”) make their first of many Super Bowl appearances, later joined by two iguanas who sound a lot like Billy Crystal and Brad Garrett.

The quarterback and the angel (1973): Farrah Fawcett lovingly spreads Noxzema shaving cream across Joe Namath’s face in the first high-profile Super Bowl ad.

Before “Mythbusters,” we watched Master Lock commercials (1974): Someone shoots a bullet into a Master Lock ... and the lock still holds!

“Mean” Joe Greene drinks Coke ... and the world cries (1980): After a tough game, the limping Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman tosses his jersey to a kid who gives him a Coke - the only Super Bowl commercial to inspire a feature-length TV movie, “The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid.”

Apple gets serious (1984): After years of Super Bowl commercials that looked as if they were filmed in a storage locker, Apple hires Ridley Scott for this big-budget play off George Orwell’s “1984,” which upped the ante for Super Bowl ads.

So what did you think? What commercial did you like best?

Bonnie Nelson is a freelance writer living in Fountain, CO. If you have comments or questions, email her at waltbon@comcast.net

CONTACT THE WRITER • WALTBON@COMCAST.nET

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