World’s best ads ever #72: McDonald’s ‘The Showdown’ aims high with two Super Bowl legends
We asked our readers to vote for their favorite commercials of all time. Top creatives from the World Creative Rankings and The Drum’s Judges’ Club then ranked the ads. Now, we bring you the definitive 100 best TV and video ads of all time.
There was a little Michael Jordan and Larry Bird in all of us after this historic spot aired during the Super Bowl in 1993. Whether you were playing basketball or throwing trash away, ‘nothing but net’ became the catchphrase for a flawless shot.
Like most good ideas, this one was simple. NBA Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird challenges Chicago Bulls star, and arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, to a game of HORSE. If Bird wins he gets to eat Jordan’s lunch, which is, of course, a Big Mac and fries. The caveat? ‘No dunking’.
Directed by Joe Pytka, the spot celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Big Mac by seeing the two athletes make increasingly ridiculous shots. Eventually we hear them swish yet another shot from atop the John Hancock tower. It appears Jordan’s lunch might still be sitting in that gym.
The spot would receive a sequel where they shoot from outer space and deny Charles Barkley the chance to join in the fun. It would also inspire the beloved movie Space Jam. Great chemistry, great ad, great catchphrase.