2019 Super Bowl LIII Pre-Game Commercial Roundup

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

It’s time for that great celebration of Americana — the fifty-third Super Bowl. Sunday night, Patriots fans and Patriots haters will come together to watch the season’s championship game, against… a team from Los Angeles? Am I reading that right?

For the rest of us, the Super Bowl is basically a better Thanksgiving. Gorging oneself is expected, of course, but there are fewer awkward conversations with the great-grandmother or that weird racist uncle. And we get to watch TV.

Yeah, for me, the commercials are the best part. It’s an opportunity to celebrate excellence in short-form storytelling — while selling something. Like each of the last several years, I’ll be watching the game with my laptop in my, well, lap, updating a post every time a new car commercial appears. However, many of those commercials have already been teased or released outright prior to the game, and that’s where this preview comes in.

Lexus has a LONG spot with Heisman-winning quarterback Matt Leinart, featuring a tongue-in-cheek Quarterback Safety System — obviously poking fun at an NFL where the the QB can’t be smeared while highlighting their own suite of safety features.

Kia teased a commercial devoid of any celebrities. Recall that last year the company’s spot featured Steven Tyler.

Hyundai already has two ads on Youtube; the first, a traditional “here’s a new car driving on an empty road” clip highlighting its new, big Palisade:

Next, a humorous look at the car buying experience with Michael Bluth Jason Bateman:

(Does no one watch Ozark? Marty Friggin’ Byrde! – Ed.)

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Hummer Hummer on Feb 01, 2019

    I believe I read that Ram moved 2500 production back to the US, in which case it makes the PowerWagon really hard to resist, even harder than it already is being the only game in town. The Gladiator desperately needs the 5.7L, I wouldn't be able to resist dropping $50-60k on FCAs lap if they gave us a Gladiator with the 5.7L.

  • Jatz Jatz on Feb 01, 2019

    That perfectly fine old Gladiator was destroyed by tatted deviants with stretched earlobes.

  • Aja8888 I knew this would happen sooner or later. Others will follow.
  • ToolGuy I read in TTAC that EVs are useless and dead, just sayin.
  • ToolGuy I am starting to question the love for our planet expressed by the oligopolists. Have I been lied to?
  • NigelShiftright My favorite color on any current car is the "McLaren orange" on Subaru Crosstreks. Unfortunately I am about four inches too tall to fit behind the wheel of one.
  • Bd2 This should solve some of those awkward styling elements on the first EV6 and in doing so only 3 years into the product cycle will also be increasing it's collectible value at future Barret Jackson auctions . A youtuber I follow does expect the Kia EV6 to be among the pioneers of collectible electric cars. I recently traced my 1997 Toyota Supra Turbo for a Kia EV9.
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