Featuring: Terry Tate.
Game: Super Bowl XXXVII.
Celebrity Paycheck: $1 million.
Total Price Tag: $4.2 million.
While Terry Tate wasn’t a real linebacker – he was played by actor Lester Speight – these ads are still some of the most memorable in Super Bowl history. Featuring Tate bringing football justice to office injustice, millions of people still watch these ads even now.
The ads were based on a 2000 short film by Peter Chiarella (who would go on to write “Crazy Rich Asians”), who also served as one of the executive producers for the ads. The first ad became an instant classic when it premiered during the big game in 2003.
Amazon: “Alexa Loses Her Voice” (2018)
Featuring: Anthony Hopkins, Cardi B, and Gordon
Ramsay. Game: Super Bowl LII.
Celebrity Paycheck: $2 million.
Total Price Tag: $25 million.
In a world where Amazon's electronic assistant Alexa loses her voice, the company scrambled to replace her with famous chef Gordon Ramsay, famous actor Anthony Hopkins, and rapstress Cardi B.
The ad garnered acclaim from critics and audiences, was nominated for an Emmy, and won three “Clio” awards. The Clio's are apparently about honoring innovation and creativity in advertising, which is why you've never heard of them.
Pepsi: “New Look” (1992)
Featuring: Cindy Crawford.
Game: Super Bowl XXVI.
Celebrity Paycheck: $500,000.
Total Price Tag: $5 million.
Pepsi has plenty of history with celebrities in their ads, but one, in particular, is sure to stick in your mind. When legendary Supermodel Cindy Crawford cracked open a can of Pepsi, it not only got tons of people to sit up and notice, but it debuted the can's new style.
Crawford became a household name thanks to this ad, though she was well on her way already. Crawford reprised the ad with her son, Presley, in 2018. She had a different outfit, but even without her white tank top, this model still sizzles.
Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage: “Get Comfortable” (2020)
Featuring: Jason Momoa.
Game: Super Bowl LIV.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
Jason Momoa thrills with his intense looks, superman physique, and long locks, but he has some secrets, and we got to know them all thanks to this Rocket Mortgage ad, which had Momoa removing his muscular bodysuit, taking off his wig, and settling down for some music.
The ad's teasers only had a brief shot of Momoa seeming to remove his shirt, which got plenty of people jazzed up to see the full ad, only for it to give us a one-eighty during the ad itself.
Jaguar: “British Villains' Rendezvous” (2014)
Featuring: Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Strong.
Game: Super Bowl XLVIII.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
It's no secret posh Brits are seen as villainous, though nobody can really explain why. This ad for the British luxury car company Jaguar attempted to explain it, with the help of three famous British actors: Tom Hiddleston, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Mark Strong.
Featuring some stunning shots of classy cars, and a couple of cool characters in suits, this ad proved to be memorable for all the right reasons, with a good dash of humor and good brand awareness thrown in.