June 30, 1999: TV Guide Names “1984” Ad As the Best Television Ad of All Time

The "1984" ad is often said to have been played only once during the 1984 SuperBowl. That bit of common wisdom is in error. The ad was aired during signoff at a televison station in Idaho in 1983, played at movie theatres just because people enjoyed it, and replayed countless times on the TV news.

While the media coverage and buzz surrounding the 1984 ad might have been testament enough to the ad's success from a business perspective, the awards that followed were even more confirmation of the ad's greatness.

For all the adulation and awards generated in the year following, there is always a worry that the ad won't have true staying power. The final worry about the Ridley Scott ad was erased when TV Guide named the ad the single best television ad of all time fifteen years after it first aired this month in 1999.