“At Continental we don’t make great tire commercials,” the bring-it-home concludes. “We make great tires.” It’s perhaps one of the greatest pitches in meta-Super Bowl advertising history, because the bulk of the ad is unquestionably not great, but it does go just far enough to keep viewers entertained. Compare it with other self-conscious Super Bowl ads including FedEx's "Apology," also of Super Bowl XXXII, LifeMinders.com’ “The Worst Commercial” of Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, E-Trade’s “Wasting $2 Million” in the same game, and FedEx’s much more highly produced “Top Ten” of Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005.

BRAND: Continental Tires

YEAR: 1998

SUPERBOWL: XXXII

QUARTER AIRED: Q1, Q4