 | ||||
| Part of | Super Bowl XXIII | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | January 22, 1989 | |||
| Location | Miami, Florida | |||
| Venue | Joe Robbie Stadium | |||
| Theme | BeBop Bamboozled in 3-D | |||
| Sponsor | Diet Coke | |||
| Director | Dan Witkowski | |||
| Producer | MagiCom Entertainment | |||
| Super Bowl halftime show chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Super Bowl XXIII halftime show took place on January 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. It was entitled "BeBop Bamboozled in 3-D". It featured a 1950s theme, an Elvis impersonator, 3D effects (for the broadcast audience), and a magic trick.
The NFL was looking to find new producers and ideas for its halftime shows in the years 1988, 1989, and 1990. [1] NFL officials met with several individuals, among them was Dan Witkowski, a veteran stage illusionist and owner of the small company MagicCom, [1] He did not give them specifics for a show at the meeting, but rather asked for the opportunity to give a formal presentation to them, which was granted. [1] To pique the interest of the league officials, Witkowski put a padlock on the leather-bound pitch books he sent to the member of the league's halftime show selection committee ahead of his presentation. [1] [2] After his presentation, Witkowski and his company were given the opportunity to co-produce the 1988 Super Bowl pre-game show (as a dry-run of sorts) in addition to the 1989 halftime show. [1]
The halftime show created was titled "BeBop Bamboozled". [1] [3]
It was decided that the show would have a 1950s theme. [1] The show featured an Elvis impersonator dubbed "Elvis Presto", played by then- Solid Gold dancer Alex Cole. [1] Two portions of Elvis Presley songs were performed ("Blue Suede Shoes" and "Burning Love"), and the rest of the show instead featured songs from musicals among other tunes. [2] [4] Cole had not originally been the individual cast to impersonate Elvis. Rather, he was the choreographer for an individual who had previously played Elvis on Broadway. [1] When that individual backed out, Cole was cast in his place. [1] The vocals of "Elvis Presto" were pre-recorded, performed by Jody LoMedico. [1]
The show featured roughly 2,000 [2] South Florida-area dancers and performers. [1] [3] Among the choreographers was June Taylor. [2] Donald Pippin was in charge of the music. [1]
A number of magic tricks had been considered by Witkowski. [1] It was decided that their big trip would be a large-scale card trick. [1]
The show also featured the use of 102 custom-made Harley Davidson motorcycles, as well as pink Cadillacs and fireworks. [1] [2] [5]
Several scenes included computer generated 3D images. [1] Prior to the game, Coca-Cola distributed 3-D glasses at retailers for viewers to use. [1] At the start of the halftime show, primary sponsor Diet Coke aired the first commercial in 3D. [1] Coca-Cola had originally planned to use the 3D Diet Coke commercial as part of the Moonlighting season finale, which was also aired in 3D, but withdrew plans due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike. [1] This made the show the first 3D television event to be broadcast. [6] Coca-Cola manufactured 26 million pairs of 3D glasses, despite the Super Bowl having a much greater audience. [1]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
The show began with a pre-taped introduction by Bob Costas, followed by the 3D Diet Coke commercial. [1]
The show then began with "Elvis Presto" (an Elvis Presley impersonator), the performance's emcee, appearing from inside a jukebox. [1]
Various songs were performed. Ironically, most of them were not Elvis Presley songs.
Among the stunts in the show was the appearance of dancers defying gravity by leaning horizontally against parking meters. [1]
3D visual graphics were incorporated into the broadcast. [1]
A card trick was performed. Presto urged the stadium audience to pick one of four cards, and an applause meter indicated which card the audience had chosen. [1]
Writing for the Sun Sentinel, Jack Zink compared the show to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He also opined that the "pregame entertainment was more enjoyable". [7] Many outlets have retrospectively ranked the show as among the worst halftime performances. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1988 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 20–16, winning their third Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held at the Orange Bowl.
New Coke was the unofficial name of a reformulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990, and discontinued in July 2002.
The Cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually-targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their flagship colas, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Beginning in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the competition escalated until it became known as the cola wars.
Tab was a diet cola soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company, introduced in 1963 and discontinued in 2020. The company's first diet drink, Tab was popular among some people throughout the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Several variations were made, including a number of fruit-flavored, root beer, and ginger ale versions. Caffeine-free and clear variations were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions, or for sports that do not have an extended period of stoppage in play. Ice hockey games consist of three periods, so there are in effect two halftimes at a hockey game: the first intermission is between the first and second periods, and the second intermission comes between the second and third periods. The intermissions are usually given over to contests involving randomly selected audience members, although for major games, like the Winter Classic, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL All-Star Game and the Frozen Four, the intermission between the 2nd and 3rd period often features entertainment typically found during halftime shows.
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.
Elvis Presley has inspired artistic and cultural works since he entered the national consciousness. From that point, interest in his personal and public life has never stopped. Some scholars have studied many aspects of his profound cultural influence. Billboard historian Joel Whitburn declared Presley the "#1 act of the Rock era".
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a diet cola produced by the Coca-Cola Company.
Pepsi Zero Sugar, is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, formerly ginseng-infused cola sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It originally contained nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages. Before a recipe change in late 2022, Pepsi Zero Sugar contained 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355 mL (12.5 imp fl oz), versus 36 milligrams in Diet Pepsi. A new logo was introduced in 2020.
"Hey Kid, Catch!" is a television commercial for Coca-Cola starring Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene. The commercial debuted on October 1, 1979, and was re-aired multiple times, most notably during Super Bowl XIV in 1980. The 60-second commercial won a Clio Award for being one of the best television commercials of 1979.
Navi is a Trinidadian-born Michael Jackson tribute artist and actor based in England.
The Super Bowl XXVII halftime show took place on January 31, 1993, at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, as part of Super Bowl XXVII.
The Super Bowl XXX halftime show occurred on January 28, 1996, at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona as part of Super Bowl XXX and featured American entertainer Diana Ross. The show was produced by Radio City Music Hall. The performance was entitled Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 years of the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl XXXI halftime show took place on January 26, 1997 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The show was titled "Blues Brothers Bash" and featured actors Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, and Jim Belushi as The Blues Brothers. The show highlighted blues music and also had performances by the rock band ZZ Top and singer James Brown.
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The organization Up with People performed in five Super Bowl halftime shows, and additionally performed in one Super Bowl pre-game show. In addition, in one of the years that they performed as the halftime headliners, Up with People accompanied Tom Sullivan in performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game. Up with People has performed in more Super Bowl halftime shows and had more overall Super Bowl performances than any other act.