Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time: Design, Storytelling & Marketing Lessons
Year after year, brands looking to appeal to sports fans eagerly anticipate one globally popular event – the Super Bowl. As brands in various industries compete for attention, only the best ones win. But remember, the best Super Bowl ads of all time are not the ones with the biggest budgets or massive executions or even celebrity power. They are all about clarity in messaging, emotional depth, timing and creativity.
Over the decades, Super Bowl advertising has evolved. From embracing pop culture to collaborating with creators and featuring real and relatable people, brands have been experimenting with different ideas. So learning from the ones that already made an impact can be a good place to start. Today, we’re discussing a few such Super Bowl ads that have left a lasting impression.
Are you ready for a dose of creative inspiration? Let’s go!
What Makes a Super Bowl Ad Truly Great?
Before we explore the ads on our list, let’s take a moment to understand what makes a Super Bowl ad “great”.
Did you know that 127.7 million watched the Super Bowl in 2025? With millions of people watching and attention spans measured in fractions of seconds, remember, there is no room for confusion. There is no room for clichés.
Here’s what separates the best Super Bowl ads of all time from the rest.
Clear and focused messaging
Super Bowl advertising is not about trying to establish a lot or squeezing too much info into a single ad. It’s about picking one solid message and clearly communicating it. Most importantly, it is about focusing on connections and communication rather than promotion. This matters because viewers may be distracted, talking, or watching in groups. If the message isn’t clear immediately, it’s lost.
Emotional storytelling
The best Super Bowl ads do not promote but rather build on strong universal emotions like humor or nostalgia. Tapping into real human feelings to tell a simple relatable story is what makes an ad memorable. But yes, more than the emotion itself, how well it fits into your brand and aligns with your customers matters.
Cultural relevance
Whether it is for a holiday campaign or a global favorite that taps into fandom, like the Super Bowl, context is pivotal. The most effective ones are those that understand trends and tune into the cultural moment, speaking to what people are talking about or feeling at that moment.
Strong visual design
All the above elements do not matter if the visual execution of the ad falls flat. Intentional pacing, relevant and engaging transitions, clear framing, crystal clear delivery, intuitive use of brand colors and the right colors overall come together to reinforce the message.
Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time + Why They Still Matter
Time to talk about the Super Bowl ads that nailed the perfect blend of the above-discussed ingredients and created a buzz.
1. Apple: 1984
One of the most iconic Super Bowl ads is Apple’s “1984”. This is the ad that introduced the Macintosh computer to the world. And in fact, we can safely say that this is one of the ads that inspired brands to go creative, go big and take Super Bowl advertising more seriously.
Why was Apple’s 1984 commercial so popular? Its rebellious theme broke the mold and ventured into a messaging style that was not very common in those days. Just Apple being Apple!
At its core, the ad carried a strong story unique to the brand. A bleak, authoritarian world. A faceless ruler. Rows of identical workers. Then one woman sprints in and shatters the screen with a hammer, breaking the spell.
As you can see, Macintosh was announced only at the very end. The portrayal was head-turning and the message crisp and memorable. That’s how good ads are meant to be. This strong message and even stronger execution are what make this one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time.
KIMP Tip: Irrespective of the occasion, ensure that the tone and personality of your ad align with the unique tone and personality of your brand. That’s how you make it easier for your customers to instantly tie your ad back to your brand.
2. Nike: Hare Jordan
Released in 1992, premiering during Super Bowl XXVI, this ad featured Michael Jordan teaming up with an unexpected ally, Bugs Bunny, in a game of basketball.
Michael Jordan delivering Porky Pig’s iconic “That’s all folks” toward the end of the video was a nice finishing touch. Details like this make a huge difference when tapping into popular themes and pop culture. It’s details like these that speak to true fans.
What makes Nike’s Hare Jordan one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time? To begin with, there is the use of animation to draw attention. This made it stand out from the traditional ads featuring people. Second was Nike’s decision to feature the popular Looney Tunes character that made the ad instantly recognizable and resonant not just with Michael Jordan fans but also with the young audience.
At the time, this kind of brand mashup was unheard of. Athletes endorsed products. Cartoons sold cereal. No one had seriously combined the two in a way that felt cool, but Nike did. The idea was a huge hit – so big that it even led to the movie, Space Jam, which saw Michael Jordan team up with Bugs Bunny again.
Finally, one of the most crucial details of this ad is that it blurred the lines between sports. A basketball-themed ad for the globally recognized football championship was a move that surprised the audience, fueling the popularity of this ad even more.
KIMP Tip: To make meaningful connections, tap into fandom. Nearly 80% of consumers report that fandom brings them joy.
3. Volkswagen: The Force
During the 2011 Super Bowl game, Volkswagen released not one but two commercials – The Force and The Black Beetle. And today we are talking about the former.
The Force became one of the most-watched ads of the season and also the most-shared video.
So what was Volkswagen’s “The Force” about? It featured a pint-sized Darth Vader attempting to use “The Force” on household objects, finally “succeeding” with his father’s Volkswagen Passat.
But what makes this one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time? While promoting a single product (the Passat), the ad did not appear promotional like many other car ads. Instead, it featured a simple and relatable scene that most people in a family would connect with.
KIMP Tip: To truly create a buzz, you need to adopt a multichannel approach that cuts through the noise and taps into the power of social media for massive reach. In this case, Volkswagen released the commercial on YouTube a few days ahead of the Super Bowl game. This helped it gain momentum and made it a bigger hit during the game.
4. Budweiser: The Budweiser Frogs
Budweiser’s Super Bowl XXIX commercial from 1995 features three frogs sitting on lily pads. One croaks “Bud”. Another croaks “Weis”. The third croaks “Er”. That’s the entire concept. No voiceover. No explanation. No joke in the traditional sense. And yet it became one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time.
What made the ad special was how confident it was in doing almost nothing. Through the ad, Budweiser didn’t tell you anything about the beer but rather created something simple and unexpected, built merely on the brand name.
The unique idea was well-received and Adweek called it the “most iconic alcohol campaigns in advertising history”.
Moreover, the characters were an instant hit, leading to a set of commercials featuring them and building on the brand’s recognition.
KIMP Tip: During a season filled with celebrity-filled commercials and grand executions, Budweiser chose to go with something simple and thus made headlines. This exemplifies the effectiveness of adopting simplicity and quirkiness where relevant.
5. Chrysler: Halftime in America
Narrated by Clint Eastwood, Chrysler’s ad from 2012 uses the Super Bowl halftime moment as a metaphor for the state of the country itself.
What made this one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time? Its timing. Remember? We spoke about considering the contextual relevance of an ad earlier in this blog. Halftime in America is one of the best ads to demonstrate the power of a well-timed message that feels relevant to the context.
In 2012, Detroit was still climbing out of crisis after the Great Recession, and Chrysler had only recently survived bankruptcy. Hence, the message wasn’t oblivious to the situation. It wasn’t promotional. It wasn’t about cars. The message in the ad was about resilience, pride, and rebuilding.
Yes, the ad did lead to a political debate but its boldness paid off and it helped the brand rebuild its authority, its image.
KIMP Tip: The above ad from Chrysler made the consumers and their situation the central theme. This made the ad feel authentic. Moreover, the video’s pacing, narration and colors together capture the graveness of the situation and preserve the grim theme even today. This is thanks to the quiet imagery and the emotionally strong narration by Clint Eastwood.
6. Google: Loretta
Google’s Loretta is one of those rare Super Bowl ads that stay with you because it feels authentically human.
Without featuring actual actors acting in various scenes, the ad adopts a simple narration and the native interface of the product itself to drive the story.
The ad follows an older man using Google Assistant to remember details about his late wife, Loretta. He asks it to show photos of them together and save little but meaningful facts he doesn’t want to forget about her. There’s no twist, no punchline, and no grand theme – just a simple everyday scene that feels painfully human and moves the audience.
It establishes how Google gives “a little help with the little things”. How can anyone dislike a message like that!
What makes Google’s Loretta one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time? A strong emotional value! Through the heartfelt theme and narration, the ad created a sense of radical vulnerability that resonated with the audience. Themes like these feel simple, memorable and more relatable and so they work well almost always!
KIMP Tip: Get creative when it comes to the visual execution of your ad. For instance, Google’s Lortta relies almost entirely on the Google Assistant interface and old photographs. This design choice proves that UI-centric storytelling can be as cinematic as a big-budget movie if the emotional core and the message are strong and clear.
7. General Motors: No Way Norway
Titled “No Way, Norway”, General Motors’ ad opens with Will Ferrell discovering that Norway sells more electric vehicles per capita than the United States. Outraged in the most Ferrell way possible, he launches a wildly unnecessary mission to Norway to “beat them”, joined by Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina. Chaos follows. Confusion follows. The point lands anyway.
The ad features a powerful celebrity lineup, but that’s really not what makes it work. So, what makes General Motors’ Will Ferrell Super Bowl ad one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time? It understands the assignment – make a point, make it memorable, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Besides, it excels in balancing humor with a strategic message.
The ad was not about promoting a single car but rather about repositioning General Motors as an EV-first company at a moment when many people still associated the brand with gas-powered legacy vehicles.
KIMP Tip: In this case, the production is intentionally over-the-top, but the branding is clear. The key takeaway here is that you do not need a massive budget or big celebrity collaborations to make a win. You need sharp timing and a memorable execution.
Learning From the Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time
All of these iconic Super Bowl ads demonstrate that a hint of creativity + emotional resonance + well-timed execution + visual consistency help turn a simple message into a head-turner, a social media sensation. You need videos and images that feel intentional and well-aligned with the chosen message.
You don’t need a Super Bowl-sized budget to apply these lessons to your advertising strategy. You need a design system that supports your ideas and, of course, a creative partner that can keep up. That’s where an unlimited design service like KIMP makes the difference. When design is always available and always on-brand, you have enough room to experiment with creative ideas and win the battle for competition.
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