Super Bowl: Super Showcase For Commercials

By James Poniewozik

Sixteen years ago, Ridley Scott's blockbuster commercial 1984 introduced the Apple Macintosh to the PC market. Perhaps more important, it established the Super Bowl as the unofficial high holiday of capitalism--the launch pad for baroque, high-profile ads that today generate more excitement than the game. (And why not? There's more money riding on them.) This fun, edifying, hourlong survey, narrated by Frank Gifford, hits more than 50 highlights, from Bud Bowls I and II to Dan Quayle's pitching Lays potato (without an "e") chips.

--By James Poniewozik