by , 1:45 PM EST, January 29th, 2001
USA Today held a poll allowing readers and Web visitors to cast their vote for their favorite Super Bowl ad of all time. Apple's "1984" ad finished second, by a paltry 307 votes, to Coca-Cola's ad featuring football player Mean Joe Greene.
Over 75,000 votes were cast, and other all-time favorites included the Dorito's laundromat commercial, as well as last year's big winner, the E-Trade "wasting money" spot.
Apple's ad has been critically acclaimed as one of the greatest commercials ever made, and thrust the Macintosh into mainstream consumer thought. The 1984 ad, and the introduction of the Macintosh, were the beginning of Apple's run as the top personal computer maker in the world, which came to a halt several years later with the removal of Steve Jobs as the company's CEO.
Jobs is now back, as is TBWA/Chiat/Day, the company responsible for creating the original 1984 commercial.
You can see who made the Top 10 for Super Bowl commercials, and watch each commercial, at the USA Today Web site.