The Super Bowl is upon us yet again.  I have to tell you that I am very excited to watch this year’s game.  To save me some embarrassment, I will not disclose my favorite team because they choked tremendously in the playoffs…or only playoff game they played.    That doesn’t matter anyway because I only watch for one reason…the commercials.

Ok, with the exception of this years match up, I am usually the one who leaves the room to eat while the game is playing and return when the commercials play.  I am a junkie.  The Super Bowl is where all great marketing campaigns start.  Some of the most memorable commercials I think:

1979 Coke – Mean Joe Greene

Mean Joe Greene meets a young kid in the stadium after a bad game.  The kid gives Greene a Coke, Greene gives him a jersey, and we all weep.

1993 McDonald’s Showdown

This is a classic commercial between two basketball greats, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, engaging in an increasingly logic-defying shooting contest for a Big Mac. “Over the billboard, off Tom Brady’s face, into the swimming pool…”

1995 The Budweiser Frogs

Do I really need to describe this commercial any further?  “buuuud,” “wiiiise” “urrrrrr.”

1984 Apple

Apple first made their official announcement about the release the Macintosh computer in a George Orwellian style commercial.

2003 Reebok – Terry Tate office Linebacker

Workers at a fictitious corporation who breach office etiquette receive bone-crunching tackles from Terry Tate.  By far, my absolute favorite commercial.

I have been trying to avoid much of the internet media for this year’s commercials, so not to spoil my excitement.  The Super Bowl is “make it or break it” branding opportunities for many different companies.  After all, the expected costs for a :30 second commercial is estimated at around 3 million dollars.  Obviously this is why many of these ads are so well written and produced.  I look forward to seeing the how well produced the spots will be this yea.  Who knows which company will create that groundbreaking commercial that will be spoken about for years to come?

Oh, by the way, there is a game to be played.

My prediction: Colts 38 Saints 27.