Super Bowl time again! The OEMs, and many other products and services, grab expensive screen time for the estimated 100 Million viewers. The ads not only are pricey — $4 million for a 30-second spot — but have become a contest of their own. It has become such a great tradition, that in some cases, non-football fans tune in to the game just for the ads and the half-time show.
Car companies have always had a presence at the game. This year, 8 car companies will vie for your eyes and dollars. So far neither Toyota nor Jeep has previewed its commercials; Toyota’s is for the Highlander, Jeep’s already is causing a buzz as it reportedly features Bill Murray and a shout out to the ‘90s classic Groundhog Day.
Here are our favorites based on the previews we’ve seen so far:
Audi: “Let it go”
We like Game of Thrones and have daughters who love Disney. Put them together and what have ya’ got? A happy message from Audi! Maisie Williams (GOT’s Arya Stark) is stuck in the grind of a busy city, but thanks to the song she sings and the electric-powered Audi E-Tron Sportback she drives, the day gets brighter and brighter. Definitely the “feel good” award.
Hummer “Electric”
Hummer “Torque”
Hummer “Horsepower”
Hummer “Speed”
Hummer, the military vehicle-turned-GM civilian SUV went into decline and then out of production in the fact of fluctuating fuel prices and a world seeking “greener” vehicles. But now it’s making a comeback, and a green comeback at that. Even the hippies will want to gather in this monstrosity of next-gen motoring.
Genesis: “Going Away Party”
John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen have a going away party for “old luxury.” The call outs are hilarious and certainly frame Hyundai’s luxury brand as hip – and far from boring stereotypes full of idiosyncratic quirks.
Kia “Tough Never Quits”
We love compelling stories. Heck, everyone does. As a star running back for the now-Las Vegas Raiders, Josh Jacobs relates the story of his youth by encouraging a child-version of himself to “Push yourself to be someone and I promise someday you will.” The rough upbringing to super-stardom did not come easy for the homeless boy from the hood. But it inspires even the most hard-hearted of us like most rags-to-riches ditties.
Hyundai “Smaht Pahk”
A famous comedian once said, “people from Boston don’t have an accent, they just say every word wrong.” We don’t want to go too far out there on Bostonians, as our boss hails from there, but this ad really showed a great feature of evolving autonomous-driving technology while making us belly laugh.
Porsche “The Heist”
We love Porsches. If you do, too, you are going to be enamored with this ad. The iron that rolls out into this cat-and-mouse chase represents some of Porsche’s greatest moments in an air-cooled chorus that features the new electric Taycan. It’s an ad we watched twice.
Hope all you car fans, football fans and Super Bowl ad fans have a great weekend!
