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Plus the worst commercial to ever air during the big game
25. Snickers - "You're Not You When You're Hungry" (2010)
Betty White's remarkable relevance in her ninth decade of life is due to this commercial. This ad's viral popularity led to her hosting Saturday Night Live, which won her an Emmy. And the Snickers campaign itself is still going strong seven years later.
24. American Express - "Saturday Night Live" (1989)
This is one of the most era-defining commercials ever: Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey were big enough stars from SNL to headline a pastel-colored Miami Vice commercial for American Express, a job that would later be given to Jerry Seinfeld and Superman.
23. FedEx - "Desert Island" (2003)
2003 was a little late for a Cast Away parody, and FedEx didn't really need to do this ad after all the free advertising the film provided, but this is as solid a comedy sketch as has ever appeared in a commercial.
22. Budwesier - "Frogs" (1995)
Budweiser's famous frogs were one of those "so stupid it's brilliant" ideas -- bullfrogs in a swamp croaking "Bud-Weis-Er." Bud's swamp campaign ran for five years and got increasingly convoluted -- eventually the frogs were dropped altogether and were replaced by two verbose chameleons -- but none of the later ads compared to the original's weirdly meditative simplicity.
21. McDonald's - "The Showdown" (1993)
In which Dream Team teammates Larry Bird and Michael Jordan compete in an epic game of HORSE. It spawned a sequel the next year and a reboot in 2010 with LeBron James and Dwight Howard.
20. Bridgestone - "Reply All" (2011)
This hilarious spot earns bonus points for being inspired by an embarrassing true story.
19. Reebok - "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" (2003)
Reebok kept the big hits coming even during the commercial breaks with this character, who increased office productivity through tackles and trash talk.
18. Doritos - "Goat 4 Sale" (2013)
Doritos has had great success with its crowdsourced Super Bowl commercials, which usually feature animals and are always very silly. This one isn't the best known, but it's the funniest.
17. Chrysler - "Halftime In America" (2012)
A commercial in the vein of Apple's "1984" where the idea is about something bigger than just selling a product, Chrysler enlisted Clint Eastwood and director David Gordon Green for a controversial short film about America going through some hard times.
16. Diet Pepsi - "You Got the Right One, Baby" (1991)
This was an enormously successful campaign for Diet Pepsi in the early '90s, but its most lasting legacy is not in football but in baseball, via this scene in the cult classic Rookie of the Year.
15. Nike - "Hare Jordan" (1992)
Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny's first team-up laid the groundwork for the movie Space Jam. How's that for a legacy.
13. Google - "Parisian Love" (2010)
Google told the whole story of a relationship through search in this beautifully simple ad.
12. Tabasco - "Mosquito" (1998)
Another brilliantly simple one -- a mosquito bursts into a ball of flame after sucking the blood of a guy who's ingested two bottles of Tabasco sauce.
11. Monster.com - "When I Grow Up" (1999)
This spot for the job listings website is brutally effective. These kids describing the depressing office drones they want to be when they grow up will have you questioning your life.
10. Budweiser - "Whassup?" (2000)
"So stupid it's brilliant" taken as far as it can go. It got played out in the early '00s, but maybe it's time to bring "waaazaaa!" back.
9. Budweiser - "Clydesdales Brotherhood" (2013)
Every year the iconic Budweiser Clydesdale horses star in a tear-jerking commercial about the bond between man and beast. This one, which is influenced by the Christian the Lion viral video, is the most "I have something in my eye" of them all.
8. Budweiser - "Football" (1996)
They're emotional now, but back in the '90s, the Clydesdales were funny. The punchline to this spot where the Clydesdales play football is *kisses fingers* mwah!
7. Xerox - "Brother Dominic" (1977)
Before Mean Joe Greene, before "1984," there was Brother Dominic, the monk tasked with making 500 copies. Dom is back in updated, internet-savvy form this year.
6. Old Spice - "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (2010)
Never before had such random zaniness been used to so effectively pitch a product. Did you ever notice that this ad is a single unbroken take?
5. Oreo - "Blackout" tweet (2013)
It's not a traditional Super Bowl commercial, but Oreo won the 2013 game with its jaw-droppingly fast reaction to the third quarter power outage.
4. Wendy's - "Where's the Beef?" (1984)
Where is the beef, though? Did we ever find out where the beef is?
3. Coca-Cola - "Hey Kid, Catch!" (1980)
This sweet late-'70s/early-'80s spot is one of the most famous commercials of all time and still gets parodied to this day. Last year, the stars of the commercial, Pittsburgh Steelers great "Mean" Joe Greene and the now middle-aged kid Tommy Okon reunited for the first time since 1979.
2. Apple - "1984" (1984)
Apple's "1984" is the Citizen Kane of Super Bowl ads -- it changed the game for influence, creative achievement and budget. For the first time, it made commercials television events in and of themselves. The Ridley Scott-directed spot only aired nationally one time during Super Bowl XVIII, but that was enough to secure its legacy.
1. Volkswagen - "The Force" (2011)
This ad is perfect. It hits all the spots for memorability -- funny, heart-tugging, nostalgic and surprising (but not too surprising!). Its joke structure is classic. The Darth Vader mask isn't even this expressive in the movies. Its success on social media changed the way brands approach Super Bowl ads. Its only weak point as an ad is that you probably don't remember it's for Volkswagen.
Bonus: Xifaxan - "Football Game" (2016)
The worst commercial in Super Bowl history aired last year. It's an ad for an IBS medication, and it features a jiggly, anthropomorphic ball of intestines suffering from urgent diarrhea at a football game. It's both baffling AND gross!