An ad to remember! Each year, various brands vie to create a memorable Super Bowl ad, but whether they’re advertising food, cars or anything in between, the spots aren’t always successful.
However, some commercials, especially the food-focused ones, are remembered fondly for years after they debut. Take Betty White’s Snickers ad for example. The 2010 spot featured the Hot in Cleveland alum assuming the role of Mike, a young guy playing football with his friends in a park.
After Mike (who is actually White) gets tackled during a play and pushed in the mud, one of his pals tells him, “You’re playing like Betty White out there,” and he gets angry. At that point, Mike’s girlfriend offers him a Snickers to get him back on track. After taking a bite, White vanishes and Mike reappears, assuming his actual identity.
The commercial ends with the now memorable catchphrase: “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
The popular ad featuring The Proposal actress spawned several more as part of the same campaign. Those subsequent commercials starred celebrities such as the late Robin Williams, Joe Pesci and more.
Another memorable Super Bowl spot from years past is the 2001 Pepsi ad that capitalized on Britney Spears’ rising pop stardom. The commercial combined the “Baby One More Time” songstress’ signature sound with an old Pepsi jingle, creating an earworm that was hard to forget.
Though singers showing up in Pepsi commercials is nothing new — Michael Jackson famously appeared in a 1984 ad — Spears’ turn seemingly opened the door for other contemporaneous artists and musicians to follow in her footsteps. Case in point: Beyoncé, Cardi B and Super Bowl LIV halftime performers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira have all appeared in Pepsi spots since, though not all of them have debuted during a Super Bowl.
In other instances, food brands have used their Super Bowl ads as a way to tap into the cultural zeitgeist. For example, Bud Light and HBO joined forces in 2019 to create a commercial that drummed up enthusiasm about the final season of Game of Thrones (which premiered a few months later) using the fictional world of Dilly Dilly.
Scroll down to see even more memorable Super Bowl food commercials:
