This Sunday’s Super Bowl ads went for a record-breaking $3 million per 30 seconds, but that didn’t stop Dreamworks from shelling out for a 90-second spot. So much for corporate belt-tightening! But watch the 37 years’ worth of Super Bowl commercials you’ll find at Adland, and you’ll see that at first, at least, the ads were no-frills affairs.
Just look back to 1973 (Miami vs. Washington), when a pre-Fonz Henry Winkler pushed Schick razors. Or 1982 (San Francisco vs. Cincinnati), when Frank Sinatra starred in a low-rent Dodge promo and Telly Savalas tried to charm viewers into buying a Ford. Just two years later, Ridley Scott’s big-budget Apple “1984” ad changed the advertising game once and for all.
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