2022 Super Bowl LVI Pre-Game Commercial Roundup


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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- Tassos I also want one of the idiots who support the ban to explain to me how it will work.Suppose sometime (2035 or later) you cannot buy a new ICE vehicle in the UK.Q1: Will this lead to a ICE fleet resembling that of CUBA, with 100 year old '56 Chevys eventually? (in that case, just calculate the horrible extra pollution due to keeping 100 year old cars on the road)Q2: Will people be able to buy PARTS for their old cars FOREVER?Q3: Will people be allowed to jump across the Channel and buy a nice ICE in France, Germany (who makes the best cars anyway), or any place else that still sells them, and then use it in the UK?
- Tassos Bans are ridiculous and undemocratic and smell of Middle Ages and the Inquisition. Even 2035 is hardly any better than 2030.The ALMIGHTY CONSUMER should decide, not... CARB, preferably WITHOUT the Government messing with the playing field.And if the usual clueless idiots read this and offer the tired "But Government subsidizes the oil industry too", will they EVER learn that those MINISCULE (compared to the TRILLIONS of $ size of this industry) subsidies were designed to help the SMALL Oil producers defend themselves against the "Big Oil" multinationals. Ask ANY major Oil co CEO and he will gladly tell you that you can take those tiny subsidies and shove them.
- Dusterdude The suppliers can ask for concessions, but I wouldn’t hold my breath . With the UAW they are ultimately bound to negotiate with them. However, with suppliers , they could always find another supplier ( which in some cases would be difficult, but not impossible)
- AMcA Phoenix. Awful. The roads are huge and wide, with dedicated lanes for turning, always. Requires no attention to what you're doing. The roads are idiot proofed, so all the idiots drive - they have no choice, because everything is so spread out.
- Leonard Ostrander Pet peeve: Drivers who swerve to the left to make a right turn and vice versa. They take up as much space as possible for as long as possible as though they're driving trailer trucks or school busses. It's a Kia people, not a Kenworth! Oh, and use your turn signals if you ever figure out where you're going.
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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.