Few Auto Ads Air on Super Bowl
January 30, 2009
By Michelle Krebs
Super Bowl audiences will see a dearth of car ads during Sunday's big game, and they will see none from Detroit's ailing automakers. Only Audi and Hyundai, back for the second year as they seek to increase market share in the game, and Toyota will advertise during the game.
The cost of the ads, which hit the $3-million mark for a 30-second spot (of which there will be nearly 50) this year, is significant barriers to entry for automakers with auto sales slumping to their lowest levels since the early 1980s and most companies struggling to turn a profit. And the payoff is mixed for advertisers, even though the Super Bowl attracts millions of eyeballs.
This year's game is expected to attract 98 million viewers, about the same as last year. Despite the viewership, the payoff for an auto advertiser can be mixed, as a post-show analysis by Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver, illustrated.
Audi and Hyundai got great results from last year's Super Bowl ads so no surprise they are back for a second year. Toyota returns with a single ad, despite mixed results from last year's game.
Audi: Supercharged for Super Bowl
Back for an encore after last year's success, Audi has nabbed the first commercial spot on the Super Bowl and will use it for its new supercharged Audi A6.
Inspired by iconic Hollywood chase scenes, the 60-second sport stars actor Jason Statham, known for his action-packed roles in the "Transporter" series, "Snatch" and "The Bank Job." In the ad, Statham, making his first appearance in a Super Bowl commercial, rushes from decade to decade to avoid capture, trying to find a vehicle to aid his getaway. He finds that several other luxury vehicles fail to get the job done. That is, until he finds the supercharged Audi A6.
Audi, seeing opportunity in the tumult of the U.S. car market, drives home the point with its high-speed journey through luxury automobiles in American history that some things are best left in the past and Audi is the most progressive choice.
Audi is looking for a big payoff from its Super Bowl ad again this year. Audi returned to Super Bowl advertising last season for the first time in 20 years with a sinister, Godfather-inspired ad of its R8 sports car. The spot generated a 60 percent increase in page viewing for Audi on Edmunds.com on Super Bowl Sunday and a 33 percent increase for the full week following the game.
The advertising agency for Audi, San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners, created the ad, which was shot on location in Los Angeles.
Hyundai: Expands Super Bowl Presence
Hyundai is not only back to advertise on Super Bowl; it has expanded its presence. The Korean automaker will sponsor NBC's Super XLIII Kick-Off Show. It will have three spots during the pre-game show and two 30-second spots during the game for a total of five 30-second slots.
Hyundai and its agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, have developed five new ads to fill each Super Bowl Sunday advertising segment. The spots focus on three distinct messages: Hyundai's next model introduction, the 2010 Genesis Coupe launching this spring; Hyundai's newest consumer program called Hyundai Assurance that takes back the vehicle if the buyer loses his or her income; and the Genesis sedan's 2009 North American Car of the Year honor.
The pre-game show will be named the "Kick-Off Show Presented by the Hyundai Genesis, '2009 North American Car of the Year.'" One pre-game spot will pay tribute to the Genesis sedan, which was advertised on last year's Super Bowl for Hyundai's first appearance on the event, while teasing the Genesis coupe.
The Genesis coupe debut features a soundtrack scored and performed by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin from rock band Smashing Pumpkins. A new spot highlighting Hyundai Assurance will round out Hyundai's pre-game advertising. Precision driving in the ads is performed by Rhys Millen, a Pike's Peak world record holder, Formula-D champion and professional driver. The campaign includes an online component at that allows visitors to create their own version of a Genesis coupe ad, to be shared with friends and posted to social networking sites.
Hyundai's two in-game positions include one second-quarter spot and one third-quarter spot.
Hyundai has selected another ad featuring the Genesis Sedan's 2009 North American Car of the Year win titled "Bosses" for the second quarter slot. The third quarter slot will feature the Assurance Program
with a new ad called "Contract."
"In any given year, I'd be happy to have one of these three stories to include in Super Bowl advertising, so this is like a perfect storm," Joel Ewanick, marketing vice president, Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement. "We feel that the collection of ads strike the right emotional tones, blending enthusiasm, honesty and a little humor to share the great news about Genesis sedan, debut Genesis coupe and communicate our most timely value proposition, Hyundai Assurance."
Hyundai has been getting a lot of traction out of all of its efforts. Last year's Super Bowl caused shopping on Edmunds.com to soar. So too did its launch of the Hyundai Assurance promotion and its 2009 North American Car of the Year win, according to Edmunds.com's analysis.
Toyota: Are You Venza?
Toyota will air one commercial during the Super Bowl that stars its recently launched Venza.
The 30-second spot to appear in the first quarter is called "Faces" and was created by Chicago-based Burrell Communications, which has been the African American Agency-of-Record for Toyota since 2001.
"People want a vehicle that reflects how they see themselves, so we developed the 'Are You Venza?' campaign to introduce the 2009 Toyota Venza into the consumers mind," said Munier Sharieff, Burrell, VP Creative Director.
"We created 'Faces' to appeal to people who appreciate design and see themselves as unique. We feel the consumer will see themselves mirrored in Venza as the perfect balance of utility and art."
Added Dionne Colvin, Toyota national manager advertising in a statement: "We wanted a spot that would help us introduce the 2009 Toyota Venza to consumers who view themselves as multidimensional. We think the 'Faces' spot and the 'Are You Venza?' campaign is a great complement to the overall launch.
No Show for Big Three
Detroit's ailing automakers will be a no show for this year's Super Bowl, appropriately so. U.S. taxpayers watching the game may not be thrilled to see GM and Chrysler spending $3 million per commercial -- with their money. GM and Chrysler have received federal loans to keep them afloat; Ford, so far, has resisted.
GM announced months ago -- even before it sought federal assistance -- that it was bowing out of Super Bowl advertising for the first time in a decade. GM's cited budget cuts and no major vehicle launch that aligned with the event as reasons for its absence.
Ford last advertised on the Super Bowl in 2006 when the game was played at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, owned by the Ford family. Ford used the ads to launch is redesigned Super Duty F-Series pickup.
Chrysler's last appearance on the game was in 2007.
Photos from manufacturers and their ad agencies
1 - Actor Jason Statham stars in Audi's A6 ad.
2 - Hyundai touts its 2009 North American Car of the Year win in its "Angry Bosses" ad.
3 - Hyundai shows a new ad for its Hyundai Assurance promotion.
4 - Toyota features its new Venza in its Super Bowl ads.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:46 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , In the Media , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
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Posted by: br_soft | January 30, 2009 at 10:42 AM