Auto Ads Tackle Super Bowl Sunday

While allegiances concerning this year’s Super Bowl are polarized to say the least (We’ve got a 2-Pats, 1-Giants, 3-Who Cares, split in the marketing department), the auto companies are on point to make this year’s championship game one to remember (if for no other reason than the commercials). While many are keeping the specifics of their Super Bowl ads under wraps until Game Day, consider this my unofficial guide of the auto ads to watch for on Feb. 5. Lexus is taking the field for the first time in Super Bowl commercial history.  From what I’ve read, the ad is centered around the 2013 Lexus GS and depicts the car as a Frankenstein-like monster attempting to break free.  Cue related tagline: "The next generation of Lexus cannot be contained." Is that Frankenstein trying to break out?  Nope, just the newest sport sedan from Toyota’s luxury line. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZClbVqEqF1U[/youtube] Volkswagen was too excited to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to debut their latest episode in their Star Wars-Themed Super Bowl ad saga.  While I personally think it will be hard to top the awesomeness of the Pint-Size Darth Vader vs. Passat showdown, a chorus of dogs barking the Imperial March is an admirable contender.  Plus, how awesome is the Chewbacca Dog? So good! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w[/youtube] Suzuki has big plans for illustrating what all-terrain really means with the setting of their Super Bowl ad being in the arctic – yes, that’s right – the arctic.  Suzuki aims to show off their Kizashi sedan during the big game.  And what arctic-based ad would be complete without a team of sled dogs? None, which is precisely why Suzuki throws some canine friends into the commercial as well. While Chrysler isn’t saying much about how they plan to top their rockstar Imported from Detroit ad from last year, Olivier Francois, Chrysler/Fiat CMO, said that their focus will be on product, not propaganda.  Francois was quoted in Advertising Age: “This year, the money goes on what we make. Topping last year is just an ego thing.” Who knows what we’ll see, but I wouldn’t be upset with another appearance by Eminem. Audi released their Game Day Commercial yesterday, and they’ve vowed to tackle vampires in this year’s ad.  That’s right, vampires.  What’s clearly a jab at the Twilight series definitely caused me to chuckle.  It is called Daylight, and they are encouraging online engagement with the inclusion of a hashtag, #SoLongVampires.  Nice movie, Audi. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw9ZeXB2uKs&list=PLB8964EAFB7E19B94&feature=plcp [/youtube] Chevy is taking a more interactive marketing approach to Super Bowl XLVI with the launch of a mobile app that will feature trivia questions and surveys about the game and commercials.  But GM isn’t kidding around; they’ll be giving away 20 Chevys as part of this interactive marketing strategy.  No worries for those who haven’t joined the smartphone world quite yet – people can also enter the sweepstakes by visiting http://chevygametime.ec2.eprize.net/.  Oh, and did I mention, they plan on supplementing this marketing move with 5 commercials during the game? And Honda?  Well, let's just say Ferris Bueller is making a comeback. In the form of Matthew Broderick.  I mean, how can anyone handle work on a day like today? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhkDdayA4iA&list=PL06C840606AEED0CE&feature=plcp&context=C31396c8FDOEgsToPDskLbZi3_OpBAHIuyoRBcF5t8[/youtube] As for the other auto contenders, we’ll just have to wait and see what ads they unveil on Super Bowl Sunday.  All I can say for sure is that my expectations are pretty high after the epic spots that ran last year, and I’m excited to see which auto manufacturers bring their ‘A Game’ on Super Bowl Sunday.