Five of the best Super Bowl commercials of all time

Millions of people tune into the Super Bowl, and not just for the ball game.

The commercials are half of the excitement of the show and have been for nearly as long as the Super Bowl has been around.

The commercials are half of the excitement of the show and have been for nearly as long as the Super Bowl has been around.

Here are some of the best Super Bowl ads to grace our TV screens:

Coca-Cola's Mean Joe Greene commercial

The iconic Super Bowl ad originally aired in 1979 but aired during Super Bowl XIV in 1980. In the classic Coca-Cola ad, Joe Greene accepts a bottle of the soda from 9-year-old Tommy Okon after a tough game. Thirty-six years later, the pair had a reunion.

Apple's Macintosh "1984" commercial

The ad aired only once during Super Bowl XVIII, but the dystopian themes left the Apple commercial in our minds for decades after. The ad featured a runner escaping an army, tossing a sledgehammer and destroying Big Brother, likely symbolizing then-dominant IBM. The Ridley Scott-directed ad announced the debut of the Macintosh computer.

McDonald's "The Showdown" commercial with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird

The 1993 ad aired during Super Bowl XXVII. Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird sees Michael Jordan opening a bag with a Big Mac and fries and decides to play him for it. A never-ending shooting match ensues.

Pepsi's security camera commercial

Pepsi aired the humorous ad in 1996 during Super Bowl XXX. A Coke salesman restocks a gas station refrigerator with the drink, but gets tempted to try a Pepsi from the refrigerator next door. As Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" plays, he grabs a Pepsi, to disastrous results.

Snickers commercial with Betty White

A more recent ad aired in 2010 during Super Bowl XLIV and starred Betty White and the late Abe Vigoda. It marked the launch of Snickers "you're not you" campaign. Betty White plays herself in an intramural football game, with sharp comebacks and one-liners.

Cox Media Group