Car brands have always been near the top—if not the top—of the advertising world, a storyboard dotted with creative progressions from Ford’s Model-T to the Age of Electric.
And like many brands, the evolving ingenuity behind auto ads is never on better display than during the NFL’s biggest game, where the latest and greatest in the industry is introduced to the masses with spots that play out like a short film on Super Bowl Sunday.
The best of the best?
That’s a difficult question to answer, and one that creates an interesting trivia tidbit as USA TODAY Ad Meter—which has quite a proverbial garage of great car spots since 1989—celebrates its 35th Anniversary:
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Over the three and half decades of the ratings, there have been three car commercials that have won Ad Meter, but none of those crack the five highest-rated car ads of all time.
That honor belongs to these commercials, all of which just happened to advertise during a remarkably top-tier level of competition. (For example, these would have finished at the No. 1 spot in each year from 2022 to 2016.)
5. Isuzu: “Guy loses playoff tickets” (1994)
Ad Meter Rating: 8.00
1994 Winner: Pepsi’s “A Chimp Experiment Goes Awry”: 9.34
4. Nissan: “Pigeons fly over Nissan” (1997)
Ad Meter Rating: 8.07
1997 Winner: Pepsi’s “Bears Dance to Village People Tune”: 8.22
3. Honda: “Matthew’s day off” (2012)
Ad Meter Rating: 8.11
2012 Winner: Doritos “Dog bribes cat owner”: 8.82
2. Hyundai: “Cheetah” (2012)
Ad Meter Rating: 8.16
2012 Winner: Doritos “Dog bribes cat owner”: 8.82
1. Volkswagen: “The dog strikes back” (2012)
Ad Meter Rating: 8.73
2012 Winner: Doritos “Dog bribes cat owner”: 8.82
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