How 1 Ad in 1984 Redefined Super Bowl Advertising

It all began in 1967, when the first Super Bowl kicked off a frenzy that would change the advertising landscape forever. However, in its early days, the scale and scope of commercials were modest. It took eleven iterations and a groundbreaking ad from Xerox to slightly shift the paradigm.

But it wasn't until two mavericks, Apple's Steve Jobs and film director Ridley Scott, joined forces to create the iconic "1984" ad that the game truly changed. This one-minute masterpiece, which introduced the Macintosh computer, shattered every marketing norm that came before it. Brands no longer just showcased products; they told stories. And great storytelling, as we all know, is an investment that pays off.

📊 Compared to this year’s $8M for a 30-second slot, Apple spent $800K ($2.4M in today’s sum) to air a full minute-long ad in 1984. (Source: Business Insider) 

📈 The payoff? $3.5M in Macintosh sales—right after the ad aired. (Source: NYT) 

What started with Apple, was carried forward by Budweiser. The beverage giant spent a jaw-dropping $470M+ on commercials, creating some of the most memorable ads in Super Bowl history (remember the 1995 ‘Budweiser Frog’?). The 2000s ushered in a new era of humorous ads – from Levi’s ‘Crazy Legs’ to the actually wacky Old Spice ad from 2010 – these campaigns set the stage for what was to come. 

The 2010s only re-established the notion that the Super Bowl is still the grand stage for marketing campaigns. From Chrysler’s ‘Halftime in America’ to ‘DoorDash – All the Ads’, the 60-second commercials were a landmark moment in pop culture. Fast-forward to the present, and it's clear that the Super Bowl remains the pinnacle of advertising events. 

As Global Chief Marketing Officer for AB InBev, puts it, “Super Bowl brings something else on top of this [TV viewership], which is the fact that people are willing to see the commercials. This doesn't happen anywhere I guess. Right. It's an advertising festival as well."

👑 Super Bowl still reigns supreme and Uber Eats showed why

To give you a 2025 example… think of ‘Uber Eats - A Century of Craving’. The one about a popular conspiracy theory: Football, after all, was invented to… sell food. It was quite a bounce back after last year’s backlash. Let’s look at what they did right this time –

• Pivoting away from last year’s messaging (Uber Eats is more than food), the San Francisco-HQ brand doubled down on its core offering – it’s THE app for food delivery.

• Matthew McConaughey and Greta Gerwig (albeit in a cameo) struck the right note with the audience demographic – 75% of adults from the 18-34 age group watch the Super Bowl. 

• Unlike the last time, ‘A Century of Craving’ leveraged a more forceful Call-To-Action which is likely to drive more revenue during SuperBowl than last year.

It’s a classic instance of seeding culture into a campaign done right. But it’s easier said than done. Finding the sweet spot between brand identity and cultural relevance is tough. Your brand might stay the same, but culture? That’s always evolving. 

While few brands get it right, fewer still shape the culture instead of chasing it. Notably, DoorDash is one that stands out for its ability to master the art of embedding itself into the moment, turning trends into opportunities, and converting cultural relevance into lasting impact.

It’s unprecedented how they spawned a trend themselves instead of just being part of it. Not just once, but quite a few times. Be it the Shoe Surgeon campaign or the reimaging of the ‘Basketball’ anthem, DoorDash has established itself as one of the most exciting brands among marketers to watch out for.

Luckily, we got some inside scoop from DoorDash social and culture lead Emery Barnes, the brain behind those triumphant campaigns, at our inaugural episode of the ES Think Tank Season 2.

Did you know that 65% of Gen Z fans are more likely to buy from brands that support their favorite teams? But here’s the tricky part: taking your brand beyond the field and into the arena of culture. 

That’s exactly what DoorDash did last year…

Look at how they reimagined ‘Basketball’—Kurtis Blow’s cult classic anthem. Barnes explained, “Basketball and hip-hop are so integrated so we wanted to do something for culture– both again for basketball but also hip-hop. But we said in order to do this we have to be authentic… we figured as a brand we just want to be the brand that’s facilitating this versus the brand that’s owning the song.”

So, the DoorDash team adopted a three-pronged approach: 

🙌 Paying homage to Kurtis Blow’s original song on its 40th anniversary by roping him in.

👩‍🦰 To add WNBA flavor, Sue Bird was brought in. The cherry on top? Lola Brooke’s hook on Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones.

🔥 Spiced it up by leaning on Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart's chemistry to draw the Gen-Z fans.

“We married both business objective and what we want to do with cultural relevance and creative excellence and it tells in the work too,” Barnes added. This confluence of marketing culture, and sports is more and more evident if you look around. For instance, Elf Beauty sponsored a women’s wrestling tournament—positioning itself at the heart of today’s cultural zeitgeist. 

🎯 DoorDash hit bullseye with the Thanksgiving campaign

In another instance, just a month after the ‘Basketball 2.0’ campaign, Barnes and his team saw another opening. Kai Cenat—arguably the biggest name on Twitch—announced a Mafiathon 2 collab with Druski and Kevin Hart. Team DoorDash wanted to be a part of it. Barnes explained, “Kevin Hart– he reaches out to [an] older audience. You’ve Druski, who I think is like more of that household name… Then you have Kai Cenat, who is really the face of the Internet. You put all these three together you get the Avengers Crew of Cultural Relevance.”

So, how did DoorDash capitalize on the moment?

1️⃣ Druski went live on Kai’s stream, ordering everything from a PS5 to a Christmas tree—all from DoorDash.
2️⃣ He kept dropping a tagline-worthy phrase: “Hey, DoorDash doing everything now.”
3️⃣ It was organic, real-time entertainment.

And it worked. Big time!

Barnes reflected in a chat with Trey Holder at the ES Think Tank podcast, “What was amazing is that it drove incredible results—not just for social, but for business. It broke retail records for Cyber Monday and Black Friday.”

But to drive ‘incredible’ results, you need incredible ideas. The DoorDash Thanksgiving and Basketball 2.0 campaigns were as big as ideas get – as Barnes explained ‘to make yourself a timeless brand, you have to be able to still move volumes.’ This is how you move beyond ads to create iconic moments and win sports fans for life. DoorDash has already embraced that reality. They are now shaping the trend itself instead of just latching onto it.

You're all set! With Think Tank Season 2, we’re diving even deeper into sports marketing with a great lineup of industry leaders. Stay tuned for more insightful conversations ahead!

And hey, don’t forget to watch our season 1 episodes 🎧 with leaders from Yesway, Riddell, WWE, and more.