Electric Car Ads Make Their Debut for the first time. Big stars, annoying moms, extremely adorable robot puppies and a home car charger….
This year, BMW, Carvana, Kia, Wallspot, Nissan and others take the Super Bowl plunge and plunk down $1 million MORE than last year to be seen on the big stage. We’ve got some early teasers from the automotive world.
The price for a Super Bowl commercial in 2022 has risen again. This year, a spot runs $6.5 million, and ads were already almost sold out in September 2021.
Huge advertising expenditures to entertain and engage the public are a time-honored tradition that will be repeated again this year, at the 2022 Super Bowl next weekend. Despite two unusual years in the automotive industry and the world, automakers are returning to play a big role in ad spending for the 56th American football championship scheduled for Sunday, February 13. And this year, EV’s appear.
BMW EVs
BMW has posted a short teaser to YouTube promoting its electric vehicles with a funny bit set in a world where Greek gods need EVs for transportation to get to their early-morning Caramel Brulée Latte. Played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zeus stops in to a coffee shop. The teaser spot is called “Something electric is brewing.” Salma Hayek will also make an appearance in the full commercial as Hera, Zeus’s sister-slash-wife. Check out the YouTube teaser — can’t wait for the full version during the big game.
Kia EV6 GT-Line
Awwww…it’s a puppy! Kia goes cutesy to introduce the world to its new electric vehicle. The company’s 60-second ad follows a lovable robotic puppy who just wants to find someone to adopt him. The robo-pup sees a guy unplug his 2022 EV6 GT-line AWD from a nearby street charger and drive away. The robo-pup follows him all around town to the soundtrack of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” The ad shows the benefits of EVs in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way — with a few pulls at the heartstrings.
Kia seems to love the puppy so much, it will launch its first ever TikTok integration that will feature Robo Dog and a “Turn Around Dance” featuring Tyler’s hit song.
Nissan Z
Nissan goes epic. This is quite a production. Here’s the scene: Eugene Levy gets the keys to a new 2023 Nissan Z from Brie Larson and then, thanks to Hollywood magic, transforms into an action hero starring in a movie called Thrill Driver, in which he flies off a building to catch an airborne Dave Bautista without spilling a drop of coffee. It’s all for fun of course, but it does its best to make both the Z and the electric 2023 Nissan Ariya, driven briefly by Levy’s Schitt’s Creek co-star Catherine O’Hara, appear cool and in charge. Actor Danai Gurira also makes an appearance. Nissan said it will air this commercial during the fourth quarter of the game and the company will also be teasing the fake movie this week as like a big studio promoting a film, with fake movie posters and, apparently, an actual trailer available on social media with actual movie reviewers being paid to review the trailer. There will also be an unboxing review of a Levy action figure. Nissan calls all of this “a 360-degree ecosystem of content.”
Wallbox
Wallbox sells home charging units for electric vehicles and this spot tells story of Seth Thomas, a man actually hit by lightning while on a motorcycle trip so he’s terrified of “things that plug in,” but Wallbox helps him discover the benefits of easily charging your car. Wallbox will air a 15-second version of the ad during the second quarter of the game.
Carvana
“Our customer is at the center of everything we do and ‘Your next customer may be your mom’ is a value that’s central to our DNA,” said Carvana co-founder and chief brand officer Ryan Keeton in a statement. “Our in-house team had a lot of fun developing this new campaign to be lighthearted and relatable.” Relatable to anyone who knows someone who can’t be stopped from talking about their new favorite thing.
By the way, The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show will feature music stars Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
