Super Bowl advertising can chew up a sizable portion of any company’s marketing budget, but the end justifies the means. If you can make your commercial stand out above the rest, chances are good that many millions of viewers will take note and, potentially, remember your product when shopping.
Automakers have a long history of advertising during the Super Bowl, and sometimes it pays massive dividends. Remember Volkswagen’s ad with the pint-sized Darth Vader? It was the sensation of the 2011 Super Bowl, and it was getting hits long after the game was a memory. On the other hand, does anyone remember Suzuki’s Kizashi ad from last year, with a car full of sled dogs?
This year, Mercedes is hoping that swimsuit model Kate Upton will be a hit, while Lincoln and Audi are letting fans direct the ad’s message. Volkswagen is going for a more down-home approach, with owners relating VW stories, while Hyundai will try to show that your car is your buddy.
Toyota, on the other hand, is borrowing a page from Kia’s 2012 Super Bowl playbook, and going for the weird factor. In the teaser video above, Kaley Cuoco from CBS’ The Big Bang Theory strolls the streets of an anonymous city, bedecked in purple, granting wishes to the people she passes. We’d caution you to be careful what you wish for, since who really wants to wander around in the form of a giant ogre? Would you throw the flag for “excessive use of purple” as quickly as we would?
What’s your take on this? Will weird sell, or is Mercedes taking the right approach by showing as much skin as it can? Will VW’s feel good ads be memorable, or are they off-target this year?
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
