The Farewell Tour sponsored by Pepsi. Additionally, the song was adopted by other brands for their advertising including Applebee's and T-Mobile, as well as the Australian rugby league competition the National Rugby League, for which it remains an iconic anthem more than 30 years after its release. The song title is often colloquially mis-cited as "Simply the Best", reflecting a phrase in the chorus. This became so commonplace that the bracketed word 'Simply' was included in the titles for releases of some subsequent versions, and in the track listing for some Tina Turner compilation albums. In 1990, the song was used for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership (NSWRL) promotional campaign. After appearing in NSWRL's ad a year earlier (with "What You Get Is What You See"), Tina Turner was invited to Sydney, Australia, to shoot the 1990 campaign ads, in which she appears alongside rugby league players, and perform the song at that year's Grand Final. The campaign featuring Tina Turner and the song is considered one of the greatest campaigns in sports marketing, which helped changed the perception of rugby league as a sport turning what was essentially a suburban game popular with working-class men into entertainment for the whole family. Such is the enduring popularity of the song as the rugby league anthem that it was featured again in the 2020 promotional campaign of NRL, more than 30 years after its release. Critical reception Bill Coleman from Billboard described the song as an "easy-paced pop offering which finds Turner's voice taking front and center stage." The Daily Vault's Mark Millan called it an "sing-along anthem". Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that the singer's "dramatic range is fully utilised on this impressive and polished production (courtesy Dan Hartman and Turner)." A reviewer from People Magazine said it "features such pizza-box lyrics as "You're simply the best/ Better than all the rest/ Better than anyone/ Anyone I've ever met"." The reviewer also noted that Edgar Winter adds a saxophone solo "with bite". Pop Rescue called the song "flawless", adding that it was probably the fact that it's such a simple song that "helped it to become so widely popular." Track listing Worldwide 7-inch, cassette and CD single "The Best" (Edit) – 4:08 "Undercover Agent for the Blues" – 5:17 UK 7-inch limited single "The Best" (Edit) – 4:08 "What's Love Got to Do with It" – 3:49