12 Commercials That Aired Every 5 Minutes
Here's a list of 12 commercials that played so often they felt unavoidable, cementing themselves in pop culture through sheer repetition.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
Advertising works best when it sticks, and these commercials made sure of it by airing constantly until audiences couldn’t forget them. From Billy Mays shouting about OxiClean to Budweiser’s “Whassup!” or McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It,” these campaigns became part of everyday life. Love them or hate them, their frequency ensured they became cultural landmarks in advertising history.
1. HeadOn (“Apply directly to the forehead”)
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The HeadOn commercial from the mid-2000s is infamous for repeating the line “Apply directly to the forehead” over and over. It was so aggressively repetitive that viewers swore it aired every commercial break. Despite how irritating it was, the strategy worked and made the product unforgettable.
2. Mentos “The Freshmaker”
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In the 1990s, Mentos rolled out its catchy “The Freshmaker” campaign with cheesy but memorable scenarios of people finding clever solutions while eating the candy. These ads were everywhere, especially during after-school programming. They stuck in people’s minds because of the upbeat music and constant airplay.
3. OxiClean with Billy Mays
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Billy Mays became a household name thanks to the nonstop OxiClean commercials in the early 2000s. His booming voice and high-energy pitch seemed to pop up during every sports game and late-night show. Even if you didn’t buy the cleaner, you couldn’t escape hearing about its power.
4. Budweiser “Whassup!”
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The late 1990s and early 2000s saw Budweiser’s “Whassup!” commercial become a cultural catchphrase. It played so often during sports events that you could recite the ad word for word. Its simple humor and relatability kept it running nonstop.
5. GEICO “15 Minutes Could Save You 15%”
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GEICO’s endless variations of its famous slogan dominated commercial breaks for years. From cavemen to geckos, the ads became so frequent that they felt unavoidable. Their sheer volume and clever concepts made them part of American pop culture.
6. Tootsie Pop “How Many Licks?”
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This classic animated commercial featuring a boy asking Mr. Owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop ran for decades. It seemed to air constantly during Saturday morning cartoons. The timeless question made it one of the most overplayed but beloved ads in history.
7. Coca-Cola “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”
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First airing in the 1970s, Coca-Cola’s “Hilltop” commercial featuring people singing about sharing a Coke became one of the most replayed ads ever. Its message of unity and happiness ensured reruns for years. By the 1990s, reruns and remakes made it feel like Coke never stopped singing.
8. Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”
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When Old Spice reinvented itself in 2010 with Isaiah Mustafa’s witty monologues, the commercials blanketed TV and online platforms. They were so frequently aired that the campaign went viral beyond traditional advertising. The humor and speed of delivery made it impossible to ignore.
9. McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It”
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Debuting in 2003, McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle became globally recognizable thanks to endless advertising repetition. Commercials ran constantly across TV, radio, and even sports sponsorships. The consistent branding drilled the slogan into everyone’s memory.
10. Energizer Bunny
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The Energizer Bunny ad campaign, which started in the late 1980s, became a never-ending commercial in itself. With the bunny “still going,” the ads aired constantly across decades. It was one of the longest-running campaigns that felt truly inescapable.
11. Axe Body Spray
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In the 2000s, Axe Body Spray ran heavy advertising that targeted teenage boys with over-the-top fantasies of attraction. The ads aired so frequently on MTV and sports channels that they became part of youth culture. Their exaggerated tone made them both iconic and mocked.
12. “Got Milk?”
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The “Got Milk?” campaign from the 1990s and early 2000s was inescapable on TV and in print. The iconic milk mustache appeared everywhere, and the TV spots ran almost every commercial block. Its frequency helped cement it as one of the most recognizable ad campaigns in history.