38 years of Super Bowl Commercials.

February 4, 2010 11:58 PM

38 years of Super Bowl Commercials. We now have 38 out of the 44 super bowl years, making this the worlds largest collection of super bowl ads. You're welcome!
posted by dead cousin ted (22 comments total)

You could say this is kind of a double because it was posted last year when the collection had 37 years of Super Bowl Commercials, but it's really one of those annual things that get fresh new content every year. Besides, it's the work of MetaFilter's Own dabitch, and was featured in Projects way back in 2006, when it only had 33 years of stuff.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:28 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh wow! This is so great, with the extra attention it is getting this year, older ads that we've been trying to get a hold of are being sent in by their creators (example, yesterday we got "gimme guys" from 96 when the Art Director saw it was missing). Yeay!
posted by dabitch at 3:03 AM on February 5, 2010

Using Flash with no h.264 option? Have you no shame?!
;-)
posted by i_cola at 3:49 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

That is great. Thanks.
posted by lampshade at 4:14 AM on February 5, 2010

I have to go to the bathroom.
posted by applemeat at 5:25 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

I can't remember the last time an announcer so matter-of-factly called a car sexy. And I certainly can't ever remember someone earnestly calling a Mercury Capris sexy, but here you go.

This is amazing and I am not going to get any work done today.
posted by Spatch at 5:37 AM on February 5, 2010

"...older ads that we've been trying to get a hold of are being sent in..."

You'd think the advertisers would be eager to make them available and since the commercials are such a production they would keep a few copies in the archive.
What problems do you run into trying to track these down and get a copy? Do some companies not want to sully their current image with their past image?
posted by vapidave at 5:40 AM on February 5, 2010

Using Flash with no H.264 option? Thank you.
posted by Plutor at 5:46 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

This better have the 3-D Doritos commercial where a Marty McFly look-alike races an anthropomorphic Pepsi Machine on a skateboard!
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 6:02 AM on February 5, 2010

What problems do you run into trying to track these down and get a copy? Do some companies not want to sully their current image with their past image?

There are usually three avenues to finding these old ads. The company, the ad agency, and the production house that actually created the ad.
Possible issues...
• Company and/or ad agency no longer exists.
• Company and/or ad agency has been acquired (perhaps multiple times) and records/archives are hard to find/missing.
• Claims made in old ad may not be exactly accurate and legal sees a problem with that.
• There simply isn't a viable copy of the ad available.

And so on.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:02 AM on February 5, 2010

Certainly beats CBS earlier this week when they managed to take four or so minutes of Super Bowl commercial bits and stretch them to fill an entire hour.

Way to program there, Tiffany!

Adland forever.
posted by dakotadusk at 6:38 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

My kid worked with Zack Snyder on the Bud "respect" commercial, said it was a very moving experience..
posted by HuronBob at 7:37 AM on February 5, 2010

Gay dating site ad rejected by CBA
posted by The Whelk at 7:52 AM on February 5, 2010

CBS

*sigggggh*
posted by The Whelk at 7:53 AM on February 5, 2010

Every time I hear the name Man Crunch I giggle because my first image is of a bag of fried snacks called Man Crunch. Find it next to the Bachelor Chow at fine stores everywhere.
posted by Babblesort at 8:50 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

That mancrunch rejection should have been because the ad sucks (or as they originally stated mancrunch can't afford it), but considering they have accepted the Tim Tebow ad this year, and they rejected the MoveOn* ad in 2004 (which had GREAT creative), I fully understand the Raging Grannies song.
posted by dabitch at 8:54 AM on February 5, 2010

I propose a Mefi charity raffle with the winner getting to choose any banned ad from past superbowl broadcasts to substitute for the Tim Tebow / Focus on the Family ad airing this year. It'll raise a mint. I'm not rich but if you are accepting body parts as bids I bid "the left one of anything I have two of except auricles or ventricles".
posted by vapidave at 11:53 AM on February 5, 2010

oops, raffle or auction.
posted by vapidave at 11:54 AM on February 5, 2010

So when a commercial costs $3 million per minute to show, what's your budget for developing it?
posted by MarkMoran at 2:37 PM on February 5, 2010

I hear Godaddy feeds a bunch a monkeys a banana for each ad they put together with the puzzle-pieces "Danica patrick", "strip", "ogling", "party", "shower" and various other words found in a box.
posted by dabitch at 4:20 PM on February 5, 2010

Wow. Love the collection. In case anyone is interested, here's a roundup of ten classic Super Bowl commercials that use well-known (or just really cool) voiceovers.
posted by WhoseVoice at 7:04 PM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. As far back as 1969 they were trying to sell Clamato to Americans. It just never took off there the way it did in Canada (maybe because they were pronouncing it wrong.)
posted by evilcolonel at 9:54 PM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]