Super Bowl LIII went down this Sunday and the Patriots crushed the Rams. We saw a lot of commercials during the game including a number of car ads.
By far, FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) ran the most advertisements of all – a total of 6 across its brands. Toyota ran 3 commercials but used the most screen time, which cost more than $60 million.
We saw a good variety of strategies. Some ads bet on comedy, others on emotional response, third – on lucrative rewards.
Browse the full list of 2019 Super Bowl car commercials below.
The 2019 Volvo S60 – The Longest Drive
Volvo used an interesting campaign. Instead of paying for a long commercial, they ran a short 15-second ad to generate interest for their competition. Volvo simply shifted their marketing funds to pay for the big prize – a subscription for the new S60.
The competition was simple. When you visit the website, you could run an iris scanner app. The goal was simply to stare at it for as long as you can. The player with hardest resolve and biggest phone battery would become the winner.
The same strategy was used by Mercedes-AMG in 2018.
Audi Presents – Cashew
Audi bet on comedy for their Super Bowl ad. Their commercial also reaffirmed the company’s move toward electric vehicles.
The setting was suspicious from the start of the video. Fat chance grandpa had a brand new Audi e-Tron GT at the back of the barn.
The e-Tron SUV already premiered in the US, but the GT is just a concept at this stage. The all-electric Gran Turismo promises 590 horsepower and the Quattro all-wheel drivetrain.
Either way, choking on cashew is a hilarious plot twist and we didn’t see it coming. Thank god Ronda has practiced her Heimlich maneuver.
Mercedes-Benz 2019 A-Class – Say the Word
What if you could change the world around? If you could command the outcome of any event? Mercedes-Benz allowed their imagination to run free for a moment. And yes, “make it rain” and Ludacris on all stations is a proper use of your superpowers.
The commercial promotes the new Mercedes A-class, which comes with a voice command feature. It’s a Siri or an Amazon Echo for your car. The digital assistant listens to your voice commands and performs various actions. For example, it can play music or set your navigation with your destination location.
A large touch display and a customizable HUD offer an intuitive interface with the vehicle.
Ram “Big Game Blitz” – Roll Rams Roll
With four commercials during the Super Bowl, Ram had plenty of shots and this one was an obvious choice.
The ad features a herd of CGI rams, a pack of football rams and a Ram Heavy Duty truck towing the mobile home. All of them are rushing to the game it’s an act of chivalry that allows the animals to pass first.
It’s neither a subtle, nor a very creative ad. It’s a cheap shot, but often those are the most effective. There are so few occasions when your brand name fits in the center of the puzzle.
Ram “Big Game Blitz” – 4th Quarter Fight
The 4th quarter is an unnerving time for any football player. Keeping composure and maintaining focus under pressure is a quality all winners have.
But some people have their 4th quarter last more than just 15 minutes. It’s 5 hot months out of every 12 for the farmer, 18 years for the single parent, 3 tours overseas for the soldier.
With this commercial, Ram sends a shout out to all the hard working people in America. The ones who put in their fourth-quarter fight daily and weather the storm.
Of course, Ram Heavy Duty is there to make the fight a little more even.
Ram “Big Game Blitz” – Make Sure of It
For one of their 2019 ads, Dodge enlisted the help of actor Jeremy Reed. Reed narrates a touching monologue about the future generations and educating our next leaders. The camera slowly zooming out of his daughter on the back seat of his Ram pick up truck.
This commercial promotes the Ram “Built to serve” philosophy. The connection with some of the feminist remarks is hard to spot, but we’re sure those were intended for good.
Ram “Big Game Blitz” – Can’t Remember
The intro to a quartet of Ram Heavy Duty ads is about a couple of cowboys, discussing Super Bowl commercials. What are the chances, right?
Either way, these old riders remember a bunch of good ads, but can’t recall which brands they advertised.
The commercial finishes with the line “Can’t they just show you what they’re selling” followed by a full view of the Ram Heavy Duty.
Jeep “Big Game Blitz” – More Than Just Words
In this Jeep commercial, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plays their “proud American” card. The video opens with a shot of One Republic singing and (mostly) playing the national anthem.
The ad proceeds to show a mix of classic American symbols – Marilyn Monroe, Uncle Sam, NASA, drive-in theaters. And along all those staples of American culture is the Jeep Wrangler, which to be fair, fits quite well.
Jeep “Big Game Blitz” – Crusher
After almost 50 years of exile from the Jeep assembly lines, the Gladiator is back for 2020. Jeep wanted to show just how tough it’s going to be.
Not only did the Jeep Gladiator survive the car crusher, but it pushed back and straightened out its body panels, and grew a new roof. There is no comment from Jeep whether the “rebuild” feature is going to come as an option.
Jokes aside, the new Gladiator is massive. It sports an extra row of seats and plenty of space in the bed for all your dirt bikes and camping equipment.
Dodge “Big Game Blitz” – Devil Went Down to Georgia
The last commercial from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is reserved for its muscle. Under the tunes of “Devil Went Down to Georgia”, a fleet of screeching Dodge cars is speeding on Atlanta’s empty streets. A Durango and a Charger are lead by the company’s signature muscle – a Challenger SRT Demon.
We have to admit – the SRT performance vehicles look amazing going sideways.
Hyundai – The Elevator
Actor Jason Bateman plays the elevator operator in Hyundai’s Super Bowl ad. Apparently, car shopping is worse than bad dental health, jury duty, an overcrowded plane and “the Talk”.
Well, not with Hyundai’s Shopping Assurance. The program promises an easier and faster car buying experience with plenty of perks. It includes 3-day free exchange of your vehicle, transparent prices, and a streamlined purchase process.
The humor is balanced Jason Bateman has just the right smug for an ad full of cheeky remarks.
Toyota Supra – Wizard
Say what you will about the new Toyota Supra. The Super Bowl commercial showed some proper handling by the 2020 Supra. The car had to avoid becoming the ball inside the real-life pinball course.
The Supra is nimble and weaves through the course with ease. Style points for making donuts inside a giant blender, missing the blade by a hair’s width. The I6 and the exhaust sound very nice as well.
Overall, the video paints a good image of the Supra – properly sporty.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – Tony Harris
Tony Harris is one of the first women to receive a college scholarship to become a football player. Naturally, she had to break a number of assumptions and prove her abilities beyond her level.
The RAV4 is not exactly an underdog, being one of the most popular SUVs in the world. But, Toyota is using the commercial to promote their RAV4 Hybrid.
They want people to know it’s just as good, if not better than the gasoline version.
Lexus – Next-generation Quarterback Protection
Lexus emptied the bank to pay for their 4-minute commercial. With a price tag of $40 million, it’s intriguing to see Lexus relying on parody to promote their 2019 UX 200 SUV.
The quarterback protection presentation is a hilarious analog for the safety features of the Lexus UX. The Lexus Safety System Plus offers a number of those:
- Blindsight monitor
- Collision detection
- Lane assist
- Intelligent high beams.
This is the funniest car commercial at 2019 Super Bowl and we hope it pays off for Lexus.
Kia “The Great Unknowns” – What If?
This year, Kia abandoned the practice of using famous people to act in their Super Bowl commercials. Instead, they chose to honor the workers in their plant in West Point, Georgia.
The first ad launched prior to the Sunday game as a warm-up.
While we respect their effort, it sounds just a little insincere, given Kia’s commercial last year. In 2018, Kia had Steven Tyler drive in reverse around the oval track only to stop and watched a horde of fans storm through security.
2020 Kia Telluride Big Game Commercial | Give It Everything
The main Kia commercial showed a number of faces from its manufacturing facility in West Point. The goal is to show their own people the recognition they deserve. It also shows the rest of America that the Telluride is an American product, built by Americans in America.
The final river dive of the Telluride is a sharp contrast with the video’s moody theme. And while we know they used a snorkel on the intake, we’re not still sure how the SUV can handle getting wet.