NBC aired the world’s first TV commercial in 1941. Since then, we’ve seen millions of ads grace our TV screens.
The best commercials can bring in huge amounts of revenue for a brand, but they can also cost a fortune. After all, A-list endorsements and elaborate special effects don't come cheap, while placement can be another huge expense. In fact, reports suggest that 30-second ad spots during this year's Super Bowl were selling for more than $7 million each.
Read on as we explore some of America’s most expensive TV commercials of all time, adjusted for inflation into today's money. All dollar values in US dollars.
Widely considered to be one of the most iconic commercials of all time, Coca-Cola's 1971 Hilltop ad showed people from around the world gathered together on a hillside, singing and drinking Coke.
The advert's catchy I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke jingle became a hit record and soared to #7 on the Billboard charts, while the company received more than 10,000 letters praising the advert.
It was the first time the recording industry had been heavily involved with the world of ads – and that wasn’t the commercial’s only milestone, either.
With a production cost of $250,000, the equivalent of over $1.8 million today, it was also the world’s most expensive TV ad at the time of its release.
Website domain registrar GoDaddy's 2005 Super Bowl advert was so outrageous that FOX banned it – but as the old adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right?
According to internet services company Netcraft, GoDaddy added 2.5 million domain names in 2005, so the $2.4 million (the equivalent of $3.6m today) spent on the advert arguably wasn't a total write-off.
The two-part commercial starred model and wrestler Candice Michelle, who suffers an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction while pitching an ad to a fictional broadcasting committee.
And this wasn’t the only GoDaddy Super Bowl ad that has raised eyebrows. A decade later, a commercial entitled Journey Home, which featured Buddy the Golden Retriever, was pulled after more than 42,000 people complained that it was encouraging puppy mills.
To celebrate Ferrari’s 60th anniversary in 2007, the luxury car company teamed up with oil giant Shell to create a truly wow-worthy advert.
The commercial shows a series of vintage Ferraris racing past some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, including the Colosseum, Times Square, and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. When the last car starts to run out of gas, it refuels at a Shell station before setting off on more global adventures.
The production took a month to film and was filmed entirely on location, costing $4.5 million ($6.4 million today).
Stranger Things star David Harbour stepped up to parody a range of adverts, including for the likes of beer, diamonds, and insurance, all in the name of Tide's It's A Tide Ad commercial.
In each micro segment of the advert, which aired during the 2018 Super Bowl, Harbour interjects with "it's a Tide ad" at the crucial moment, before musing to the camera: "So does this make every Super Bowl advert a Tide ad? I think it does..."
As well as cleaning the nation's clothes, the laundry detergent apparently cleaned out the bank, too: the witty commercial cost $8.1 million, equivalent to $9.6 million today.
Special effects can be costly – but sometimes it’s just as eye-watering to do things by hand.
Car company Honda found this out the hard way with its 2003 commercial Cog. Amazingly, nothing in the two-minute ad, which features an intricate chain reaction made up of different car parts, was computer-generated.
The entire film required a staggering 606 takes to get right, which is the main reason why this otherwise-spartan advert racked up a bill of $6.2 million ($10 million today). The effort was worth it, though, as Cog is now considered one of the most iconic car adverts of all time.
Celebrity endorsements, special effects, famous music... it's safe to say that South Korean car company Kia threw everything at its 2014 Super Bowl ad.
The commercial shows actor Laurence Fishburne reprising his role as Morpheus, his iconic character from the Matrix franchise. At a valet stand, Morpheus hands a couple the keys to a brand new Kia K900 before singing opera so powerfully that it causes the world to explode.
The bizarre production cost $8 million, the equivalent of just over $10 million today, with the price tag including the cost of using the Morpheus character.
Like Kia, tech giant Microsoft also went all-out for its first Super Bowl advert in 2014, which cost $8 million (just over $10 million in today's money).
Starring former NFL player Steve Gleason, who has motor neurone disease, the TV commercial highlights the different ways in which Microsoft's technology can "empower" humans.
Despite its relatively simplistic premise, the thought-provoking ad – which showed how tech enabled Gleason to communicate using eye-tracking software – moved the nation and certainly brought a different spin to the usual Super Bowl mix.
As a multinational corporation, PepsiCo has some of the world's biggest brands under its belt.
For its 2018 Super Bowl commercial, the company pitted two of its products against each other in an epic rap battle between actors Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman, who represented Doritos Blaze and Mountain Dew Ice respectively.
With special effects, iconic music tracks, and even a cameo appearance from rapper Missy Elliott, it's no wonder this advert racked up a bill of $10.2 million at the time – that's around $12 million today.
Proving that the most expensive adverts aren’t always the best, Italian carmaker Fiat fell flat when it released its Super Bowl commercial in 2015.
Made to advertise the Fiat 500X, a larger and more powerful version of the popular Fiat 500, the commercial shows a man accidentally dropping an incriminating blue pill out of his bathroom window.
The tablet falls into the tank of a Fiat 500 that just so happens to be parked on the street below and the car rapidly transforms into the newer 500X model. As metaphors go, it's safe to say that this one stalled...
In total, the controversial advert lasted just one minute and is thought to have cost $10 million to make. That's the equivalent of $12.5 million in today's money.
Chrysler’s 2011 Super Bowl ad starred rapper Eminem and cost around $10 million, or $13.2 million in today's money.
It could have cost a lot more though. Reports claim that Eminem accepted "about 20%" of what he should have been paid, simply because he took a Chrysler 200 for a test spin and enjoyed the ride.
The ad, titled Imported from Detroit, shows the star driving through his home city’s run-down streets as a voiceover asks "What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?"
The ad subtly draws attention to Detroit's once-golden history as a major car manufacturer, with Chrysler actually founded in the city back in 1925.
After the ad aired on Super Bowl Sunday, "Chrysler 200" became the second-most popular search term on Google according to Autoblog.
Boasting America’s largest TV audience, it's safe to say that the Super Bowl offers prime advertising real estate for brands. In 2002, Pepsi sought to capitalize on this by hiring megastar Britney Spears to appear in its ad.
In a whirlwind two minutes, Spears pays homage to the varying styles of the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, implying that everyone is part of the "Pepsi generation."
The company paid $8.1 million to produce and air the advert, which equates to $13.4 million today.
Universal Pictures shelled out $11.9 million to create and air its thrilling Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom movie trailer at the 2018 Super Bowl. That’s $14 million when adjusted for inflation.
The mammoth amount of money spent on the short promo accounted for almost 7% of the blockbuster’s $180 million budget.
However, given that the flick grossed an eye-watering $1.3 billion at the box office, it’s safe to say the exposure was worth it...
Using the tagline "break into something good," this commercial for the snack PopCorners aired at the Super Bowl this year and stars Breaking Bad duo Jesse (Aaron Paul) and Walter (Brian Cranston). Instead of crystal meth, the pair makes and sells PopCorners to drug lord Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz).
The broadcasting costs for this commercial, which is approximately 60 seconds long, would have been around $14 million. On top of this, PopCorners would probably have had to pay a considerable amount to Paul, Cranston, and Cruz, as well as to Breaking Bad writer and director Vince Gilligan, who was brought on board to direct the ad.
Bud Light’s Up for Whatever advert didn’t sit well with customers, with many believing the slogan encouraged people to ignore consent.
The brand’s parent company eventually decided to axe the campaign – but not before it had spent $12 million ($15m in today's money) on its 2014 Super Bowl advert.
The hidden-camera commercial starred Ian Rapoport, a man who "is not an actor," according to the voiceover. A woman offers Rapoport a Bud Light and asks him: "If I give this to you, are you up for whatever happens tonight?"
Rapoport is then whisked away for the best night of his life, which starts in a limo and ends with him playing table tennis with Arnold Schwarzenegger, via an elevator ride with Don Cheadle. We've all been there.
Celebrity appearances abounded in Amazon's 2018 Super Bowl advert.
Chef Gordon Ramsay, rapper Cardi B, actors Rebel Wilson and Sir Anthony Hopkins, and even Amazon founder Jeff Bezos all starred in the commercial, which is set in a fictional world where Amazon Alexa has lost her voice.
After each of the celebrities lends their voice as an Alexa alternative – with dubious results – Alexa eventually returns, saying: "Thanks, guys, but I'll take it from here."
It's unclear whether Bezos was paid for his part but the whole affair cost a grand total of $14.9 million. Alexa reliably informs us that that's $17.6 million in today's dollars.
The thrilling The Longest Chase shows a group of bank robbers making their great escape in a Toyota Prius car.
Featuring stunt driving that wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood action flick, the daring advert certainly got pulses racing when it aired during the 2016 Super Bowl.
Naturally, a blockbuster ad requires a blockbuster budget and Toyota reportedly shelled out a hefty $14.4 million, or $17.8 million when adjusted for inflation.
Splashing the cash once again, Amazon reportedly spent around $16.8 million on its Before Alexa commercial for the 2020 Super Bowl, which is $19.3 million today.
Featuring Hollywood power couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi – who undoubtedly didn't come cheap – the commercial asks viewers to ponder what life was like before the invention of Alexa.
Google’s tear-jerking Loretta from 2020 featured an elderly man using his Google Assistant to replay memories of his late wife.
The 90-second ad cost $16.8 million to create, $19.3 million in today’s money.
According to research from video advertisement firm Unruly, Loretta was the most effective ad of the Super Bowl that year, with 49% of viewers having an "intense emotional response" to it.
Samsung’s 2013 Super Bowl advert starred Hollywood funny guys Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, and Bob Odenkirk, and also featured a brief cameo from NBA legend LeBron James.
The humorously meta 90-second trailer features the stars brainstorming advertising ideas for Samsung Galaxy phones.
Titled Next Big Thing, it's estimated to have cost $15.2 million, or $19.4 million when adjusted for inflation.
Rather than using its 90-second Super Bowl advert to highlight a specific car, Ford shook things up in 2017 by using its Go Further ad to showcase the company’s various innovations and how they've improved people's lives. This included ride sharing, electric vehicles, bike sharing, and self-driving cars.
Featuring Nina Simone’s track I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, the ad depicts people stuck in various situations, like being locked out of their homes or stranded at sea.
It reportedly cost $16.2 million at the time, or $19.6 million when inflation-adjusted into 2023 dollars.
Fox rejected the original The Journey Begins commercial from building supply company 84 Lumber for being too politically charged. The initial ad depicted a US-Mexico border wall, which had been a campaign promise from then-president Donald Trump.
As a result, the company aired an edited version at the 2017 Super Bowl, which showed a Mexican woman and her child on an inspiring trek to cross the border.
The purpose was for recruitment, with a final message reading "The Will to Succeed Is Always Welcome Here."
The cinematic-style commercial reportedly cost $16.2 million, which is $19.6 million today.
Super Bowl ads have apparently become a yearly tradition for Amazon's Alexa, which recruited real-life couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost for its 2022 commercial.
At 90 seconds long, the broadcasting costs alone would have totalled at least $20 million. It's likely that Johansson and Jost didn't come cheap either: according to online estimates, they have a combined net worth of $175 million.
But the mammoth price tag for the ad – which explores what would happen if Alexa could read your mind – seems to have been worth it, with the commercial receiving rave reviews on social media.
Doritos is owned by PepsiCo. The company is no stranger to spending big on its TV commercials, and for this year's Super Bowl, it spared no expense on this ad for its triangular snacks.
The commercial stars rapper Jack Harlow, who becomes inspired to change his tune – literally – after discovering a triangle in a recording studio and deciding to become a percussion player.
At 90 seconds long, it's likely to have cost PepsiCo at least $21 million to air the ad, and that's before you consider the cost of hiring its star-studded cast: as well as Harlow, musicians Missy Elliot and Elton John both make an appearance.
Singularity is a trippy commercial for Squarespace that stars actor Adam Driver. Upon learning that Squarespace is "a website that makes websites," Driver begins to multiply, before all the extra versions of himself are seemingly sucked into a vortex – leaving the original to contemplate the fact that "Squarespace could create itself."
At around 90 seconds long, the commercial would have cost Squarespace at least $21 million to broadcast at this year's Super Bowl, though hiring Driver was apparently "an easy sell." Speaking to USA Today, Driver described the ad as: "Kind of odd and funny, with my kind of sense of humor. A straightforward concept, but 15 degrees to the left. And that it was for a company that promotes entrepreneurship and was interesting and wasn't something about killing the earth, was an easy sell."
And it's not just products that are advertised on our TVs: politicians also rely on the power of the small screen to appeal to potential voters.
In 2004, George W. Bush spent a whopping $14.2 million (the equivalent of $22.3m today) on his presidential TV campaign.
The ad, titled Ashley’s Story, featured interviews with the family of Ashley Faulkner, a girl whose mother was tragically killed during the 9/11 attacks.
Bush met Faulkner during a rally in Ohio and hit headlines when he hugged her after learning about the death of her mother. Although the production of the ad itself wasn’t expensive, the enormous bill covered the cost of airing Ashley’s Story across America.
Unlike many of the other ads on this list, Guinness's parent company Diageo didn’t spend millions on celebrity endorsements for its 2007 ad Tipping Point – yet it was still one of the most expensive commercials ever made.
Costing $16 million ($22.9m today), the advert was filmed in a small Argentinian village, where the high altitude and huge cast of extras made it the "biggest challenge" of director Nicolai Fuglsig’s career.
The ad shows an increasingly ambitious series of chain reactions, featuring 6,000 dominoes, used cars, and even burning hay bales. It ends with an arrangement of books flipping open to form an enormous pint of Guinness, as the slogan "Good things come to those who wait" appears on-screen.
Likely the most expensive ad of this year's Super Bowl, this commercial for Michelob ULTRA beer certainly served star talent with tennis player Serena Williams and actor Brian Cox stealing the show. The ad, which is set during a new members' day at a golf club, sees Williams infuriate Cox by consistently outperforming him on the course, while a modified golf cart dispenses Michelob ULTRA to a growing crowd of spectators.
As well as the cost of hiring its celeb-studded cast (as well as Williams and Cox, Tony Romo, Alex Morgan, Canelo Álvarez, and Nneka Ogwumike all appear), the extended version of the commercial is almost 180 seconds long. This means the broadcasting costs alone would have totaled a whopping $42 million.
French fashion house Chanel was valued at around $13.2 billion in 2021 according to Statista, so it can clearly afford to splash some serious cash on advertising.
Over the years, its ads have featured A-listers like Keira Knightley and Brad Pitt – but it was its 2004 Chanel No 5 commerical starring Nicole Kidman that was the design house's most expensive.
Le Film cost a staggering $33 million, the equivalent of $51.9 million today. According to Business Insider, Kidman received $3 million for appearing in the iconic advert and was directed by award-winning director Baz Luhrmann, who she had previously worked with on the movies Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Australia (2008).
At two minutes long, Le Film was a mini-blockbuster in its own right and cost a jaw-dropping $25.95 million per minute.
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