Pigskins and Promos: The Super Bowl Commercials Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Pigskins and Promos: The Super Bowl Commercials Quiz
Image: Mark Davis/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Some of the most famous commercials of all time have appeared during the Super Bowl. How much do you know about these pricey marketing ploys? Take this quiz to find out.
A 1992 Nike ad showed Michael Jordan playing hoops with what cartoon character?
Bugs Bunny
Hulk
Donald Duck
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny played their informal game on Mars against Marvin the Martian.

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The Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny commercial was so popular that it inspired what?
a movie
a TV show
a Looney Tunes reunion cartoon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 1996 movie "Space Jam" was a box-office success, but it received mixed reviews.

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How much did an ad spot during the very first Super Bowl cost?
$12,300
$37,500
$48,100
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

$37,500 was a good chunk of money in 1967.

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How much did companies pay for a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl in 2015?
$8 million
$4.5 million
$3 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Advertisers paid $4.5 million for an ad in 2015, but the commercials reach so many people that the price is actually worth it.

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What year did Apple's famous Macintosh ad appear?
1984
1986
1987
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The commercial was eerily reminiscent of George Orwell's "1984" and only aired once.

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How many frogs appear in the memorable Budweiser lily pad ads?
five
four
three
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Each of the three frogs sounds out one syllable of the beer's name.

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The Bud Bowl commercials showed beer bottles facing off on a gridiron. How many Bud Bowls were there?
eight
six
four
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bud Light won two years; Budweiser won the other six.

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What was the first year that a Super Bowl ad cost more than $1 million?
1987
1990
1995
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Prices have skyrocketed since 1995.

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What's the most likely reason that SodaStream's commercials were rejected in 2013?
They mentioned competitors by name.
They had partial nudity.
They had bloody violence.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Attacking Coke and Pepsi by name would have infuriated the major advertisers.

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The most-shared ad from the 2015 Super Bowl featured a puppy and what else?
a Clydesdale horse
a car
a pickup truck
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The two nuzzled each other in an effort to promote Budweiser beers.

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Apple's 1985 commercial compared average PC users to what?
clones
lemmings
copycats
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The commercial is based on the misconception that lemmings commit mass suicide. The clip was dark, gritty and not very popular.

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What percentage of the U.S. population watches the Super Bowl?
30 percent
60 percent
80 percent
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nearly a third of the country watches it.

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Which year was the Super Bowl first saturated with ads from online companies?
2007
2004
2000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The dot-com bubble burst shortly afterward, and all of that advertising money went to waste.

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What was the first big-budget movie to start its marketing during the Super Bowl?
"Twister"
"The Rock"
"Independence Day"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The gamble paid off, and the movie was the highest grossing of 1996.

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The NFL does not allow companies to advertise which product during the game?
electric vehicles
fireworks
products containing trans fats
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In addition to fireworks, companies can't advertise distilled spirits or tobacco.

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A McDonald's ad from 1993 featured which two basketball players topping each other's incredible shots?
Michael Jordan and Larry Bird
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird even shoot from the tops of tall buildings.

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About how much time is dedicated to commercials during the Super Bowl?
35 minutes
40 minutes
50 minutes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nearly an hour of the broadcast is filled with ads.

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Which car company reimagined "The Matrix" in a 2014 commercial?
Kia
Ford
Chevy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

At $8 million, the Kia spot was incredibly expensive.

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One of the first and most notable ads showed a bullet hitting what product?
a padlock
a car window
a Coke glass
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was a Master Lock on a red-and-white bull's-eye.

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How long was the most expensive Super Bowl clip in history?
45 seconds
90 seconds
two minutes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The two-minute ad featured Eminem driving around Detroit in a Chrysler. It cost $12.4 million.

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What is the first small business to have a commercial air during the Super Bowl?
GoldieBlox
Barley Labs
Locally Laid Egg Company
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A commercial for toy company GoldieBlox ran during the 2014 Super Bowl. The company had about 15 employees at the time.

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Which ultra-famous supermodel sexily drank from a Pepsi can in a 1992 spot?
Helena Christensen
Heidi Klum
Cindy Crawford
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The ad featuring Cindy Crawford introduced the Pepsi can's new look.

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What company created the most-shared Super Bowl ad of all time?
Budweiser
Volkswagen
Paramount Pictures
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 2011 Volkswagen made the controversial decision to release its commercial, "The Force," online days before the Super Bowl. The risk paid off — the commercial has been shared about 5.3 million times.

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Which product invited consumers to shoot their own commercials in hopes of airing the ads during the game?
Doritos
Pepsi
Snickers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The concept scored Doritos some of the highest marks for ads in 2006.

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Burger King promised a cash prize to anyone who could spot a commercial character named what?
Mick the Geek
Herb the Nerd
Mork the Dork
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The plan flopped because no one knew what Herb looked like.

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Which company used IndyCar driver Danica Patrick for many of its ads?
AOL
Wix
GoDaddy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

GoDaddy famously directed viewers to its website to see "uncensored" versions.

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Which famous world leader appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial in 1997?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Bill Clinton
George H.W. Bush
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gorbachev was in the ad, which was filmed in Moscow.

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In 1992 a McDonald's clip about youth football inspired which director to produce a movie?
Steven Spielberg
George Lucas
Martin Scorsese
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Spielberg hired James Ferguson to write the screenplay for the flick "Little Giants."

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In 2004 Bob Dylan (and his song) appeared in an ad for which company?
McDonald's
Microsoft
Victoria's Secret
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the Victoria's Secret clip, Dylan strolls around while a woman prances in angel's wings.

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On average, the price of Super Bowl ads has increased by what percentage every year?
6 percent
8 percent
10 percent
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It has increased by 10 percent every year. The value of these ad spots is critical, so companies are willing to pay the price.

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You Got:
/30
Mark Davis/Getty Images