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Last year, only three carmakers—GM, Jeep, and Toyota—ran ads during the big game. For 2022, at least six automakers participated: BMW, GM, Kia, Nissan, Polestar, and Toyota.
Nissan’s spot featured the new Z sports car (photo above) and the Ariya electric crossover. Unlikely action star Eugene Levy and “brand ambassador” Brie Larson star in the 60-second “comedy thriller” spot.
Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan US’s chief marketing officer, said:
It is time to take our message to the biggest stage in culture. We’re going to show the world the transformative power of driving a Nissan.
EVs Dominate 2022 Super Bowl Commercials
Nearly all the other car commercials focused on new EVs. In 2021, General Motors featured Will Ferrell calling for Americans to get competitive with the EV-loving Norwegians. This year, Mike Myers (as Doctor Evil) resists GM’s plan to go all-electric by 2025.
Kia also used the Super Bowl to push its new electric car, the EV6 crossover. The hamsters are gone, replaced by a robotic dog.
BMW was last a player at the 2015 Super Bowl, promoting the i3 electric car. This year’s spot focused on that vehicle’s successors, the i4 and iX electrics. BMW teased the ad, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (playing Zeus, the Greek god of thunder).
Polestar, Volvo’s historic high-revving brand—now its all-electric performance division—conveyed its Super Bowl message: ultra-simplicity.
Also advertising—in the second quarter with just 15 seconds—is Wallbox, the EV charger company. The concentration on EVs mirrors the auto introductions at CES, the big annual consumer electronic show.
Toyota has spent nearly $170 million to produce and air more than 40 ads in 22 Super Bowls. This year, the Japanese pitted “The Joneses”—Tommy, Leslie, and Rashida—in an off-road race in the Toyota Tundra.
Best Car TV Commercials of All Time?
Now that the Rams-Bengals game is in the history books, let’s look back at the great Super Bowl ads from the past. It’s an impossible task to narrow down the list. But these seven ads can set the benchmark for auto-related hilarity and drama during commercial breaks.
In 2011, Chrysler recruited Eminem to promote the Chrysler 200 compact car. It’s an emotional tribute to Detroit as a tough town. Though the car was ultimately a loser, the commercial was two minutes long, cost $9 million to get on the air, and has lots of memorable images:
VW’s ad for the 2012 Passat is also hugely entertaining, featuring a young Darth Vader who finally gets his powers to work (with a bit of help from Dad):
What’s not to like about an ad that uses Kenny G as a punchline? This ad for Audi in 2011 posits a luxury prison where the phrase “unleash the hounds” springs a pack of show-quality Afghans. “Escape the grip of old luxury,” it says, poking fun at rival Mercedes-Benz. “My father owned one,” a character says, fatally:
We’re not sure if this circa 1980 Ricardo Montalban Chrysler Cordoba ad was ever in the Super Bowl, but it’s probably one of the most famous car ads ever—and it wasn’t even trying to be funny. This version has some deadly serious mumbo-jumbo about the suspension before Montalban gets to the infamous line: “Rich Corinthian leather:”
This 2017 ad for the Kia Soul, featuring one of the company’s famous hamsters, has the best chase sequence ever in a commercial. The car doesn’t arrive until the last few seconds:
For sheer comedic firepower, how about an Acura NSX ad circa 2012 that features both Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno? The premise is that Jerry will do anything to get the first NSX. In reality, he’s more of a Porsche guy:
Finally, this list would not be complete without the iconic 1984 Apple sci-fi commercial directed by Ridley Scott. It was nationally aired only once, during the third quarter of the 1984 Super Bowl.
Which ads from the 2022 game should be added to this list? Please nominate your choice of all-time great Super Bowl car commercials in the comments below.
