With prices running as high as $3 million for a 30-second spot in Sunday's Superbowl, media buyers don't exactly rush into the event like an impulse purchase. What can a car company hope to push in a very expensive 30 seconds--a conversion, a concept or a car? If this year's event is any indication, it's a little of all three.
GM's Yukon hybrid will feature a somber ad that eschews humor, talking animals and the like for the blatantly false idea that you can have a full-sized SUV with Herculean towing capability and still get great gas mileage. You have to wonder if GM is indulging its own nostalgia.
GM's not alone. Read after the jump.
Cadillac will likewise feature pre- and post-game spots for its Escalade SUV, which is priced for customers who don't flinch at $3 gas and who wouldn't even darken a dealership's doorway if they were concerned about the environment. There will also be ads for the brand's award-winning CTS sedan, which more persuasively reflects GM's future and its ability to compete in a year that promises to punish all automakers.
Hyundai returns to the Superbowl, it's last appearance being in 1989. It will feature a continuation of its "think-about-it" advertising campaign, which lacks humor and shock appeal. The ad is for the new Genesis luxury sedan. Hyundai still faces old prejudices about its cheap cars. The company has been spending lavishly to convert a car-buying public. The sheer costs of this campaign should serve as a warning to other car companies who enter the North American and European markets with inferior products.
Sources: Automotive News, AdWeek, New York Times
Photo: GM
