2023 Super Bowl LVII Car Commercials: The Cars and Trucks You Saw While Watching The Big Game
The car industry packed a smaller punch in 2023.
Cadillac
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The auto industry pared back its usual high-volume participation in Super Bowl TV advertising on Super Bowl Sunday 2023, but that doesn’t mean the flashy spots projected onto car companies lacked impact.
Among the five nationally aired auto-related commercials during the Kansas City Chiefs' 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles were spots that pushed cheeky, viral, eco-friendly, and self-congratulatory messages.
Last year, over 100 million viewers tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. The sheer volume of viewers makes the Super Bowl a continued draw for marketers.
Despite the industry's down sales year in the U.S. market in 2022, persistent supply-chain snarls, increasing interest rates for vehicle financing, and continued talk of a potential recession later this year, General Motors, Stellantis, and Kia came to the Super Bowl altar with their best advertising efforts. They spent an estimated $7 million per 30 seconds on TV during the game.
Absent this year were BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche, and Toyota, all of which had memorable spots last year.
None of the car-industry commercials ended up rating in the top 10 in the iconic USA Today Ad Meter of Americans’ responses to Super Bowl advertisements. But each offered something notable. Here's a rundown:
GMC
General Motors
GM lashed A-list comedic actor Will Ferrell to the steering wheels of
The automaker demonstrated "use cases" through a partnership with Netflix that depicted its vehicles in the settings of shows provided by the streaming service, including "Army of the Dead", "Stranger Things", "Bridgerton", and "Squid Game". Sunday’s commercial was part of an arrangement in which GM will place all-electric models in Netflix shows going forward.
So, for instance, in the ad, Ferrell found himself squiring a Bridgerton lady with a Cadillac Lyriq looming in the background, and trying to make his way through a mass of zombies in a GMC Sierra Denali EV. "So if you're going to get swarmed by an army of the dead, why not get swarmed in an EV?" Ferrell asks rhetorically as one of them takes a bite out of his arm.
Ram
Ram
The Stellantis-owned pickup-truck brand hasn't often turned to humor on big stages but made up for it with its "
Kia
Kia
The Korean automaker's one-minute ad, "
While some automakers notably have continued to suffer major supply-chain problems, Kia recently increased production of the strong-selling Telluride at its Georgia plant. Kia’s ad was a safely humorous take on a father using his Telluride to fight through obstacles to retrieving his infant’s pacifier. But the brand offered three alternative endings on TikTok.
Jeep
Jeep
The original SUV brand has previously focused on freedom, Americana, and the great outdoors during its run of recent Super Bowl ads, but its "
In the spot, riders in two hybrid-electric models, the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe, get close-up views of wildlife all over the world dancing to a new version of the classic rap song, "Electric Boogie". Then the ad began rolling out globally across Jeep's social-media landscape.
Stellantis recruited Marcia Griffiths, the original singer of the tune, to create a new version along with rap producer icon Shaggy and three new artists.
WeatherTech
WeatherTech
The maker of custom-digitized floor mats, cellphone holders, and other aftermarket automotive accessories celebrated its tenth consecutive year of Super Bowl advertising with a
David MacNeil, founder and CEO of the manufacturer based in Bolingbrook, Illinois, was making a high-profile stand and taking a big chance when he purchased WeatherTech's first Super Bowl ad for about $4 million in 2014. Its theme was how MacNeil put a thumb in the eye of doubters by erecting a factory for all of WeatherTech’s production in the United States—and then succeeding to build a huge company on top of that pledge.
