American Express used DC Comics' Superman in 1998’s Super Bowl XXXII; Visa came to 2005’s Super Bowl XXXIX with Marvel superheroes, albeit in a more childish form than audiences would expect once Robert Downey Jr. suited up for “Iron Man” a few years later, kicking off a storm of mega-budget Marvel blockbusters.

Heroes including Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor come to the rescue when a woman discovers her Visa card missing. But they’re annoyed to have been bothered, because Visa guarantees its cardholders zero exposure to fraud. The kicker brings one of the big laugh lines of the game.

Visa's ad via BBDO went up against one from MasterCard and McCann Erickson in the same game ("Icons").

BRAND: Visa

YEAR: 2005

AGENCY: BBDO

SUPERBOWL: XXXIX