Don't know if this will help, but I did find a bit of information you asked about. After reading your post I researched the Super Bowl Website and found a very long list of Commercials (with synopsis) that were featured in every game starting in 1967 to present day.

In 1984 there was a commercial that started with a father and son walking on a beach with their Dog named Danny Boy. The only dialogue offered was when the boy asked his Dad..how long would his Dog live. Of course that was one of Jim's popular songs. However, no mention if this song was played during the ad or who sang it, or if it was featured at all. This struck me as very odd, since many commercials did use a backing track of a song featuring the original singer and quite a few were popular Country singers.

Hope this rings a bell for you Bob. That is all I could find after a grueling long read of a very long list which I was amazed even existed.