Home Supercars Super Bowl 56: The car ads released ahead of The Big Game

Super Bowl 56: The car ads released ahead of The Big Game

By Darren Hampton

February 8, 2022

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entertainment

Do you watch The Big Game just for the commercials, too? Here’s what automakers are running this coming weekend

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus in a 2022 Super Bowl ad for the BMW iX Photo by BMW

The Super Bowl plans on going all-out on its half-time show for 2022, with a performance mid-way through the game hosted by Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar showing the league really wants to step its game up year.

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Speaking of game, apparently there’s going to be a football tossed around by some Bengals or Rams or something? Honestly, the only Rams we’re tuning in to see are the ones Stellantis presumably paid millions to work into a soulful black-and-white monologue equating trucks to true patriotism.

That is to say, we ain’t so much watching the Super Bowl LVI this weekend as we are the car advertisement crammed in between whatever else happens at SoFi Stadium in California.

If you wanted a highlight of what to expect Nissan, BMW, and Kia will broadcast during The Big Game, too, we’ve got a recap of every car-related spot that’s set to run during that evening. With the cost of running a commercial during the 2022 Super Bowl approaching the US$7-million range, it’s safe to say these automakers really want you to see these pitches. Here’s what they’re serving up.

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Nissan — “Thrill Driver”

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Nissan tried to get ahead of the game – literally – this year, by releasing its advertisement for the new Z and Ariya EV on February 3, in advance of the Bowl. The spot starred Canadian actor Eugene Levy, as well as Brie Larson, Catherine O’Hara, Dave Bautista, and Danai Gurira.

There’s definitely a part of our brain that is happy to see the supremely talented Levy try out an “action role,” even if it lasted about 12 seconds and was really more of a parody, but he and the other Hollywood well-knowns in the ad don’t really see their skills used to their full potential. Nor does the ad tell us anything significant about the Z, or the Ariya, for that matter. Let’s just call this one “satisfactory.”

Kia — “Robo Dog”

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Kia joined in the pre-game ad spillage, letting loose both its minute-long Superbowl spot as well as an admittedly pretty cute animated robot puppy. Going for the “d’awwww!” demographic is not a new tactic, but why is this doggo digitized? Why, because the commercial is for Kia’s electric EV6, which is apparently great not only for downtown commuting but for recharging run-down robo-canines.

Compared to some of the other ads this Super Bowl, Kia’s cash sunk into this spot may have been a little more modest, considering it skipped out on the star power. But its impact feels about on par, which just goes to show you how far a good storyline – and puppy-dog eyes, even robot ones – can take you.

BMW — “Something Electric is Brewing”

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BMW is getting back into the Super Bowl advertisement game after a six-year break, and it’s celebrating its return by breaking out the big guns—well, more specifically, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big guns. The 74-year-old actor bares his biceps dressed as the Greek god Zeus, and it seems Salma Hayek will play his wife, Hera, in the ad as well.

“Something electric is brewing” reads the title on a teaser for the ad set in a coffee shop. That “something” is apparently the German automaker’s new iX electric crossover, which will undoubtedly give the ol’ God of Thunder a jolt as he settles into its uber-comfy power seats.

General Motors — “Evil is Back for Good”

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Just like the Super Bowl half-time show itself, General Motors is hoping to tap into the nostalgia center of viewers’ brains with an ad throwing back to the Austin Powers films of the ’90s, with the spot starring Mike Myers as Dr. Evil and Rob Lowe as Number Two. The social media posts featuring GM’s teaser for the ad include its “Everybody In” electric vehicle tagline; if we had to bet, there’s going to be some EV-Evil punnery afoot, allusions to “frickin’ laser beams,” and the good evil Doctor driving a battery-powered Chevrolet of some sort.

[UPDATE: A new, second teaser seems to suggest Mindy Sterling, as Frau Farbissina; and Seth Green, as Scott Evil, will reprise their roles from the film, too.]

Other outlets have put down the ad as a cynical reach before it’s even aired, but, even as predictable as it is, we’re curious to see what Myers does with the character. Oh, God, wait—is that our nostalgia talking? Dammit, GM, you always do this to me! You’re like the snake to my mongoose. Or—the mongoose to my snake?

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Vroom — “Flake: The Musical”

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If you thought Nissan’s spot came out prematurely, you might be dumbfounded by Vroom publishing its Super Bowl commercial on January 20—wow! They really couldn’t contain themselves, could they?

To be fair, there was a lot to contain, with the company apparently squeezing an entire movie musical – with dancing directed by La La Land choreographer Mandy Moore – into the span of about 30 seconds. Haven’t heard of Vroom? We can’t blame you, since the used-car e-commerce retailer hasn’t yet made its way into the Canadian market. The only reason we even share the spot with you is because we’re fans of the first-gen Bronco, VW Thing, and Ford Thunderbird they managed to work into the colorful cabaret.

Hyundai — “History of Evolution”

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Wrapping up the list of automakers who just couldn’t wait is Kia’s sibling Hyundai, which got its spot, the “History of Evolution” out on YouTube in January. It seems the automaker really wanted us to lay our eyes on his time-travelling Jason Bateman, who likens the gap between the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the first electric cars as roughly analogous to that of modern technology and the stone age.

He’s not wrong, battery-powered cars have definitely come a long way in the past 50 years. And the ad feels like a safe, mildly humorous way to draw out that point. All right, you get a passing grade for this one, Hyundai.

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