In the past few decades, the Super Bowl has positioned itself as the pinnacle of commercial advertising. Companies spend millions of dollars merely to acquire a spot during the game, not including the potential millions expended for filming, producing, CGI, celebrity cameos, and more. The automotive industry, likely more than any other, has championed this opportunity to debut vehicles or emphasize a particular model. Naturally, being a part of an automotive group such as Leith, we would like to make use today’s Zero to Sixty to highlight the advertisements of each brand that appeared during this past Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII.
Ford – The quintessential Motor City brand pursued a humorous approach that truly captured its intended message. “Nearly Double” touts the Ford hybrid’s fuel efficiency that the automaker claims is twice the capabilities of its competitors. It does so through a humorous two-segmented advertisement featuring Rob Riggle and James Franco.
Maserati – The luxury Italian automaker clearly wanted to capitalize on the dramatic spirit of the Super Bowl. A child narrated while clips of a rather epic nature served as the rising action of the advertisement’s structure, leading to a climactic growl of the Ghibli’s ignition. It did indeed “walk out of the shadow. Quietly walk out of the darkness… and strike.”
Volkswagen – This brand employed humor in its attempt to emphasize its claim that there are more of its models on the road with 100,000 or more miles than any of its competitors. “Wings” is a consistently entertaining advertisement with a colorful (get it? – watch it and you will) conclusion.
Kia – When a car company does not have a rich history of luxury models, it takes diligence, creativity, and, apparently, Laurence Fishburne to debut your K900 to a captive audience. Kia created a commercial reminiscent of the Matrix and accoutred it with fireworks and opera.
Honda – Honda took advantage of social media through attempting to create a buzz across channels with its #hugfest. A rather subdued Bruce Willis reminds us of the importance of family, then asks us to embrace one another and provides a few seconds to comply. Meanwhile, the camera zooms out to reveal SNL-alumnus Fred Armisen clinging tenaciously to the Hollywood bad boy.
Chrysler – Iconic singer and song writer Bob Dylan opens the advertisement by asking us a simple, yet profound question: “What is more American than America?” Over the years, we’ve been oversaturated with media blitzes, political stump speeches, and so much more that enthusiastically encourage greater patriotism and decry the competition. This advertisement speaks to the strengths of the American auto industry, appealing to our senses with sights, sounds, and people who represent our collective ideal that has spanned more than a century. This beautiful notion powerfully asserts that with all of our innovation and history of excellence, we have an almost limitless capacity for greatness – especially in automotives.
Acura – While it is not exactly a car advertisement, Acura sponsors the Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee web-series. If you haven’t seen it, Jerry Seinfeld picks up a fellow comedian in a classic car and, well, you know the rest from the title. With interesting banter and stories of the past, the advertisement appeals to a wide audience. The commercial put together for Super Bowl XLVIII featured Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza (no, really – he’s being George Costanza in the ad) in their booth at Tom’s Diner for a glorious reunion.
Should these commercials have inspired you to begin a search for a new car or pre-owned vehicle, we can help! For a full listing of our dealerships, please visit Leith Cars to locate the one nearest to you.