Last night’s big game brought a flurry of the best Super Bowl commercials we’ve seen in years and years. Bud Light LOST parodies, ninja throwing stars made from Doritos, the eTrade babies, and the Denny’s chickens all delivered the laughs that are expected during the final game of the NFL season. Among them were the automakers’ 30-second attempts to catch our eyes, make us chuckle, and sell their cars. Here are the top three car commercials from Super Bowl XLIV:
You read that right. Even Ferrari, the pure bred, bright red, Italian sports machine is going green. Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa announced that the world would see a hybrid version of the 599 GTB Fiorano at the 2010 Geneva Motorshow and on the streets by 2015.
Lets look at the facts to find out why a Ferrari hybrid really is about as stupid as it sounds. Right now the 599 GTB hits an MPG mark of 12/city and 15/highway– a combined cycle of 13 MPG. This is thanks to a big 8L V12 under the even bigger hood. In their press release for the 599 GTB Hybrid, Ferrari estimates a 25% increase in fuel efficiency. Spending 10 seconds with my iPhone calculator reveals that you’ll now get an astonishing 16 MPG combined cycle! Imagine how the Earth will love you!
Of course, you don’t buy a hybrid Ferrari for cutting fuel cost or to save the melting polar bears. You buy it as a fashion statement. One that says, “I endorse the idea of living green. But screw living green.”
The Super Bowl is an advertising anomaly to say the least. At any other point in TV history, commercials send viewers running to the next channel and pressing the fast forward button on their TiVos.
Yet the commercials aired during the Super Bowl are what lure and convince millions of people who have no interest in football to sit and watch an entire 3 hour game, my grandma included.
Kia Motors jumped on the advertising bandwagon to take advantage of this captive audience by producing a 60-second commercial for their new Sorento. Kia was also kind enough to give the world a taster of this crazy driving, Vegas rolling, girls in hot tubs, sock puppet mayhem, Sorento adventure (bad sentence, I know):
In the midst of a snowballing PR nightmare for Toyota, the company is scrambling to reach any and every demographic to educate customers on the recall that affects 8.1 million vehicles worldwide. One surprising tactic involves Toyota’s U.S. President, Jim Lentz, appearing on a live episode of the popular online talk show, Digg Dialogg.
Never seen Digg Dialogg? Most haven’t. In fact, the eShow appeals mostly to the computer nerd and beer drinking, college frat boy demographics, which is what makes this PR move so surprising- Toyota is putting in an honest effort to reach everyone. Putting Lentz in live and unedited to answer what will undoubtedly be heated user questions is a risky move, yet something that may yield positive results. We’ll see…
The Daily Derbi is the largest daily car blog in Utah, covering industry developments, local events, and need-to-know news. But we won't speak for ourselves! In the words of GM's PR Chief, "There's only ONE Utah car blog worth following!"
