What’s more American than football? Marketing, gluttony, and consumerism have to rank quite highly, I’d imagine. Thankfully, we have a bacchanalia this upcoming weekend that celebrates all four and then some.
That’s right, for those outside the big cities of Los Angeles and, um, Cincinnati who have been caught unaware, the LVI-th edition of the Super Bowl will be played this Sunday, February 13th. As always, marketers will pay for access to those millions of eyeballs, thus the Super Bowl Commercial as its own genre of big-budget short film.
As in years past, this will be a two-part series for TTAC. Today, I’ll post the automotive and automotive-adjacent commercials that have been shared to YouTube. Some of these are the full commercials, while some are teasers. On Sunday evening, come back here for a live-ish blog where I post every automotive and automotive-adjacent commercial as it airs. Stay tuned, as I’ll be posting from a recliner very near to my fridge and liquor cabinet. Once we get into the third quarter there’s a decent chance I’ll make a few humorous typos.
First, we have Nissan, with a spot featuring a former car salesman who turns into something of an action hero when encountering a Z. You think you like the Z now..wait until you drive it!
Next up, Toyota highlights its work with paralympic athletes. Your vintage car-loving vintage author especially appreciates the old Celica and Pickup making cameos.
Kia brings a heartwarming tale of a robotic dog who falls in love with the new EV6. Just like Kia to put your heart in a blender.
BMW leans on both star power and god power by casting Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek to feature their new line of EVs.
General Motors banks on the star power of Mike Meyers and others to rehash the Austin Powers film franchise..atop the Ren Cen.
Polestar teases a spot, minimally.
And now for the automotive-adjacent commercials.
First, used car marketplace Vroom talks about the pains of selling a used car. Bonus points for a nice vintage Bronco in the background.
Next, used car marketplace Carvana talks about the theoretical joys of buying a used car. Demerits for using an actor with an annoying voice, but I suppose that’s the point.
Next up, floor mat juggernaut Weathertech implies that it is difficult to install floor mats, and thus a ninja team of floor mat installing experts clad in Nomex need to appear from the ether to manage the work.
Finally, I’ll grant that the connection to the auto industry is incredibly tenuous with this Samuel Adams commercial, but since they’re highlighting the robotic dogs from Boston Dynamics (owned by Hyundai) I’ll share it.
That’s all I have for now. Let us know which is your favorite so far, and come back Sunday evening to join the conversation. Think of it as an excuse to not talk to the people at your Super Bowl party.
[Main image: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com]
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There was a Pontiac Firebird in the Nissan commercial.
I’m down on football this year, thanks to the Raiders moving to Vegas, besides the commercials are often the best part of the game. Now back to the puppy bowl.
The story in the Toyota add was great!
The woke gm add sucked despite Mike Meyers and the gang. Can’t they just make an EV that people want to own because it’s a great car? If so why the woke nonsense?
The Sam Adams bit was cute.
The BMW and GM ads were both pretty bad.
The BMW ad showed electric lawn tools and equipment running out of power while in use, requiring divine intervention to keep going.
The GM ad focused solely on the climate change angle of EVs saying nothing about anything else, and the “save the world” vehicles they showed at the end are all f*cking expensive and three won’t exist for sale for at least another year.
I thought the GM was surprisingly good on the surface (for GM). It was kind of funny. Yet it portrays the bizarre subtext that GM is a malevolent global organization. I am sure the ad agency said, “It’s a joke, people will understand; it’s funny.” But is it possible that it can pass without conveying some subconscious impact of GM as insidious?
Oh, wait, next-level thinking just hit me: Is it possible that GM is specifically *trying* to appeal to people who are attracted to the idea of a global cabal making rules for common people without their input? Wow, maybe these marketing people are good after all.
Looking forward to insurrectionist truckers blocking the roads.
Had to be said. Beat you to it.
Coming to a country near you…a highly unscientific conspiracy based protest with demands that have no basis in the rule of law.
I guess we’re going to do the whole late-70s thing now, stagflation and all. We just finished our latest Vietnam pullout. I wonder when the next fuel crisis will hit?
See (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss)
This inflation episode is about 100% opposite from stagflation. That was purely expectation-based, while this is being caused by simultaneous supply and demand shocks. That doesn’t mean it’s good, just that it’s very different.
yep, had nothing to do with useless lockdowns of the economy, trillions to people to encourage them to stay unemployed, firing people for not taking experimental meds, etc. Total coincidence.
Experimental meds…. Ivermectin to treat a virus…
“Experimental meds…. Ivermectin to treat a virus…”
It’s worked extremely well for Japan and India.
Further it’s the “Nobel Prize winning drug Ivermectin”. Unlike the rushed and experimental “vaccines” that are so effective we have to continue to be tested after getting THREE doses and still have to wear masks (that don’t work)
Who was it again that said once you’re vaccinated the virus cannot spread and you don’t have to wear a mask? Right the CDC and Brandon himself.
The economy isn’t showing much real growth, while prices increase. Sounds kind of “stagflationary” to me.
This inflation is not just about “shocks”. This is about massive deficit spending from the late 1970s to now, accelerating since 9/11/2001. The bad policies of the last 45 years, and specifically the last 25, are catching up to the USA.
The Fed drastically raised rates and inflicted a lot of pain to get out of the late 1970s crisis. This time, the Fed cannot do that, without making the US federal government default on its debts. Our national debt is more than 3 times larger as a percentage of GDP. And more than 30 times larger in nominal dollars, from 1979 to 2021. Ouch.
So do we flip the apple-cart, default on the debt, wreck the petro-dollar system, and possibly consign the US to being an economic also-ran?
Or print yet more dollars and kick the can down the road, hoping to somehow access explosive growth that will fix our economic problems and let us get ahead of our debt?
As a person who is decades from retirement (in a best-case scenario), both of these scenarios look bad for me.
@SPPP:
Deficit spending isn’t necessarily inflationary. If that were the case, we’d have had MASSIVE inflation during the last two spend-a-thon orgies (think 2008-09 and 2020).
The problem is too much money in the economy chasing too few goods, which drives up the price of the goods that are produced. The solution is to ramp up production to better match disposable income.
@FreedMike:
“Deficit spending isn’t necessarily inflationary. If that were the case, we’d have had MASSIVE inflation during the last two spend-a-thon orgies (think 2008-09 and 2020).”
We did. Asset prices went nuts. In fact, it has been continuous for about 20 years, with a brief disruption for the meltdown 2007-2009.
Look at the charts for:
– Stock prices (3.5X in 20 years):
(https://www.macrotrends.net/1319/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart)
– Housing prices (nearly 2X):
(https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS)
– Beef (2.5X):
(https://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=beef&months=240)
– Wealth concentration.
(https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/)
The next movie that we’re going to witness will be called “Killing Dollar”
Which one? Canadian or Australian? Or British?
The one that serves today as world’s reserved currency
Then it is Chinese.
“ Looking forward to insurrectionist truckers blocking the roads.”
It’s interesting that you have no idea what the word insurrection means.
But as a founding member of the brainwashed Covid club, you should be hoping that the honorable and patriotic truckers block the stadium.
We are in the middle of a plandemic, how can we hold such a gathering like this? Wasn’t it just two to three months ago that Mr Misinformation himself Fauci was begging people not to have Thanksgiving and Christmas? Maybe the science changed yet again.
If reincarnation exists, I’ve often thought I’d like the be a fly on the wall of an ad agency so I could see them pitch some of this stuff to clients and their reactions.
Kia – Robot dog longing for companionship? Oh boy, here we go. Robo-barf.
My takeaway is the electric robo dog lost power at a critical moment. Probably not a great message.
It is like your dog dies every day. My family barely survived one death of our dog.
Also a good point. Your new car should not be something you have to help limp along.
I thought the BMW one would be stupid, but it was actually a pretty good ad. Probably the closest to traditional car marketing – emphasizing how the car fits the lifestyle to which the target customer aspires. “Hey, wealthy retirees who think you’re still hot stuff (and want the hoi polloi to know it)! If you want to have some fun, avoid hassle, and flaunt your stuff a little, buy this BMW EV!”
Nearing retirement. Can afford anything. Then one asks themselves, 70 grand sitting in the driveway in order to go to:
– the golf course once a week.
– the grocery store 2x a week.
– the Dr once a month.
:(
Good point. And it kind of always was that way, in essence. The lifestyle pitch usually falls somewhat short of reality, for any age.
I hope that when I am in your position, I will have the financial security to make decisions of that nature.
Love the Toyota ad, but what’s the car connection, other than showing the cool Celica?
NFL is brain-dead
Nissan – stupid. Ok, I get it. A chase. I never specifically liked chases unless
it is a German sidecar motorcycle with MG34 mounted…
Toyota – ok, would be good but not a SB. SB commercial should be more like the Nissan above ^^
Kia – mechanical dog love? We should embrace things human and living.
BMW, really? Is that the guy who just overran a Prius with his Suburban?
GM – stupid. Started promising. Dr Evil? Sure!! Then turned into a birthing people or something. By half time I already forgot what was this advertisement for?
Polestar – they announced their name. 50% of the people did not even get what this was about.
For the car commercials – NISSAN
Boston Dynamics overall winner for me
Wow, Mike Myers and Rob Lowe got old, didn’t they?
Don’t tell me Wayne had to grow up! :-O
Chris, thanks for putting this together.
For those of you still deciding which team will triumph on Sunday, I have compiled an exhaustive and timely comparison of the relative competencies between the two cities:
Cinci competency level:
https://youtu.be/y1uYdHGhjUk
LA competency level:
https://youtu.be/s85nMntRzvk
Know why there’s constant commentary during NFL games? To keep you from falling asleep.