$8m buys a Super Bowl ad, not lasting impact.

Every February, the marketing industry goes through a ritual. Agencies prepare their war rooms, brands ready their social listening dashboards, and by Monday morning the verdicts roll in. Which ad won the Super Bowl? Which creative justified its $8 million price tag? Which brand “broke the internet”?

The Super Bowl remains one of the few (only?) moments where advertising commands the nation’s collective attention. But once the hype fades and the commentary cycle moves on, a more interesting question remains:

What is the most memorable Super Bowl ad you’ve ever seen?

Because surely the real test of Super Bowl advertising is not who wins on the night, but which ads continue to live in people’s minds long after the confetti has cleared.

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The ads that endure

When we asked that question of the American public, the answers didn't point to a recent celebrity-packed spectacular or elaborate production. Instead, they pointed backward. Way, way backward.

Budweiser's Frogs and Whassup? Coca-Cola's Hey Kid, Catch! Apple's 1984. Pepsi's New Generation.

Thirty or forty years on, these ads still dominate consumer memory. And this isn’t simply nostalgia; it offers a window into how advertising earns a place in long-term memory, and why some ideas endure while others quickly fade.

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Emotion as the entry point to memory

One consistent trait across the ads that rose to the top is an intense emotional response. Whether through humor, warmth, or intrigue, they all create an emotional response quickly and without unnecessary complexity.

That emotional response is not the end goal in itself; rather, it acts as an entry point that makes the ad easier to notice, process, and ultimately remember.

Budweiser’s dominance of the rankings underlines this point. Its most memorable work rarely tries to impress audiences with sheer spectacle but instead focuses on emotional accessibility that makes the brand feel familiar, human, and easy to connect with.

The lesson is not that emotion guarantees memorability, but that memory structures are far more likely to be built when people are given a clear and immediate emotional signal to respond to.‍

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The power of simple, re-tellable ideas

Another clear pattern is simplicity. Many of the most remembered Super Bowl ads can be described in a sentence—or even a few words—without losing their meaning.

That simplicity allows the work to travel. People can quote it or allude to it years later and the idea still lands. This re-tellability matters because it keeps the advertising alive in culture well beyond the time it spends on air.

Simplicity does not mean a lack of craft or “basic” storytelling. For example, frogs spelling out “Bud–Weis–Er” was hardly likely to have been a home run when it was first pitched. Instead, it reflects discipline: a willingness to narrow the idea to something robust enough to survive repetition and time.‍

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When brand and idea are tightly linked

A third common feature on this list is the strength of link between idea and brand. In every case the ad feels inseparable from the brand behind it. You cannot imagine these ideas working for another brand without them losing their meaning entirely. When the ad is remembered the brand comes with it—without the need for prompting.

From a commercial effectiveness standpoint this is crucial. Memorability is only of value when it brings the brand along for the Super Bowl extravaganza ride.‍

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Cultural resonance that lasts beyond the moment

Finally, many of the ads that continue to dominate recall have aged well because they avoided short-term cultural commentary. While rooted in their time they tapped into deeper human-led themes that persist across generations.

By resisting the urge to chase the moment (remember the “NFT Super Bowl”?), they were able to capture something more enduring about identity and the brands people choose to welcome into their lives. That is why they remain recognizable long after the original context in which they appeared has faded.‍

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What this means for marketers today

The dominance of 30 to 40-year-old Super Bowl ads is not an argument for copying the past. Rather, it provides a reminder that the principles that underpin memory formation continue to endure, regardless of whether a brand is spending $8 million on a Super Bowl slot or $8,000 on a local news station.

Clear emotional entry points, simple ideas, and strong brand ownership. While platforms, formats, and media environments will forever change, the fundamentals of how memory works won’t.

The ads people still remember decades later highlight perhaps an uncomfortable truth: short-term impact is easy to buy. Long-term memory isn’t.