2020 Super Bowl LIV Pre-Game Commercial Roundup

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn
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2020 super bowl liv pre game commercial roundup

Time to celebrate America, undiagnosed head trauma, and the greatest marketing teams in all the land on Sunday night with the fifty-fourth chapter of The Big Game.

It’s an excuse to eat and drink to excess — but many people don’t need an excuse. More, it’s the one time per year where most people won’t be waiting for commercial breaks to get up and pee, since the commercials are often the best part of the night.

As I have no rooting interest in the game — I’m from Ohio, which means the only truly professional team here isn’t eligible since it plays in the NCAA, and my Wisconsin roots are disappointed in the Packers — you know I’ll be hitting pause on the DVR to re-watch the greatest short films trying to sell me something. And I’ll have my laptop at the ready, posting new commercials as they appear.

So be sure to come back Sunday night and keep me company as I (sorta) liveblog the Super Bowl automotive commercials. Many of them have already hit the virtual airwaves, so here’s a pregame rundown:

Porsche

Porsche returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in many years with a long spot highlighting its electric Taycan, making the EV sedan look as fun to drive as the company’s heritage cars — including the epic Penske/Donohue 917-30.

Hyundai

Hyundai clearly was betting on the Patriots to make it to the big game this year, as they’ve enlisted Boston-area stars to highlight the Smart Parking feature on the new Sonata. Excuse me: Smaht Pahk.

Audi

Audi triggered parents with kids of a certain age (those who blossomed around the time Frozen became available on BluRay) with actress Maisie Williams singing Let It Go. I’m reminded of a combo birthday/Halloween party for my youngest where we had roughly a dozen Elsas singing this all damned night. I’d have gotten in an E-Tron and driven away, too.

Chrysler

Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as snarky, Pacifica-driving mom — though if you read between the lines, it’s not completely clear that Chrysler plans to show this during the game.

Kia

Kia focuses on the problem of youth homelessness by highlighting Josh Jacobs, a first-year professional running back who occasionally had to live in a car with his dad as he grew up.

I’m including a second video here — a brief documentary about Jacobs’ young life.

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's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Tassos Unlike Tim, I don't use this space as a wastebasket for ANYTHING BUT a proper used car.If you seriously need a car AND you are as destitute as Tim's finds imply, HERE IS A PROPER ONE FOR YOUR NEEDS:You can probably get it for only $4k, WITH Leather, Factory Navigation, plenty of room and a V6.https://www.cars.com/research/toyota-camry-2005/I even considered getting it myself as an extra reliable car.
  • Jeff Of all the EV trucks I like the Rivian the best but I am still years away if ever from buying an EV.
  • Kwik_Shift I definitely like the looks of the newest 300s over the Chargers.
  • SCE to AUX "Should car companies shack up with tech giants in order to produce legible infotainment systems and the like? Or should they go it alone?"Great question(s).The River Rouge days are gone, where Ford produced whole cars out of raw materials entering the plant at the other end. Nearly everything is outsourced these days - sometimes well, sometimes disastrously.But the problem with infotainment systems is that they are integrated with the car's operation. VW has delayed entire products for issues with infotainment.For me, the question boils down to a contractual arrangement - who owns and maintains the code forever? Since more and more of the car's function is tied to the infotainment system, I'd argue that the car mfr needs to own it - especially the larger ones.Do mfrs really want to share intellectual property with Huawei just to fast-track some code they've managed themselves in the past?
  • Kwi65728132 I always did like the styling of the 300C and it was on my short list for a new (to me) rear wheel drive, naturally aspirated V8 luxury sedan but I found a Hyundai Equus that was better optioned than any 300C I could find and for several grand less.
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