The Rams weren’t the only winners of Super Bowl LVI—electric vehicle commercials also took to the stage to debut some of the best ads (and cars!) of the night. This surge in electric vehicle ads is no surprise given that global sales of electric passenger vehicles are projected to surpass 10.5 million this year, about 4 million above 2021 levels, according to BloombergNEF. Here are the electric vehicle commercials that aired during Super Bowl LVI.
BMW: Zeus & Hera
To promote their new BMW iX, BMW’s Super Bowl ad features Zeus, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Hera, played by Salma Hayek. With Zeus retiring from Mount Olympus to Palm Springs, Zeus is underwhelemed and unhappy with earthly electricity and electric items. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, Hera reveals the BMW iX to her husband, and he reclaims his electric spark and happiness.
This ad pairs with BMW’s latest promotion with Electrify America where if you buy a new, all-electric BMW iX xDrive50, BMW i4 eDrive40, and BMW i4 M5, you will get two years of 30-minute free EV charging sessions at all 3,000 Electrify America charging stations. According to Electrify America, iX and i4 drivers can expect to collect charges lasting between 90 and 108 miles in as little as 10 minutes, respectively.
Kia: “RoboDog”
In one of the cutest ads of the night, Kia’s “RoboDog” commercial follows a robotic puppy who wants someone to adopt him, set to Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” When the dog sees a man unplug his 2022 EV6 GT-line AWD from a street charger, it follows the car around town until it runs out of battery. Luckily, the man recharges the dog with the EV6’s onboard charger, and the two drive off together.
The 2022 EV6 is Kia’s first 100 percent electric vehicle and the first of 11 new electrified models that it plans to roll out by 2026. Kia has committed to reaching 40 percent of all sales from EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids by 2030, and 100 percent by the year 2040.
To further integrate the ad in the multiverse, a TikTok integration includes a video showing the RoboDog turning around in tune to the lyrics of the song. Kia is also promoting the PetFinder Foundation with the ad by way of a QR code on Kia’s digital channels that results in Robodog coming to life and giving a link to a Petfinder site for users to adopt a dog.
GM: “Dr. EV-il/#EVerybodyIn”
GM’s electric vehicle commercial at Super Bowl LVI brought back Mike Myers as Austin Powers, along with many other members of the original cast, for the first time since Austin Powers in Goldmember, which came out in 2002. The ad reveals that Dr. Evil has now taken over General Motors. However, since he’s no longer the greatest threat to the world (climate change takes the cake on that one), Dr. Evil’s team pushes him to do some good in the world before taking it over. The solution? Electric vehicles.
The spot promotes GM’s plan to create all-electric cars by 2025. In 2021, GM announced its plans to invest $35 billion in electric vehicles and develop 30 new global electric vehicles by 2025, with the U.S. assembly to have the capacity to make 1 million EVs, also by 2025.
Nissan: “Thrill Driver”
Nissan made its return to the Super Bowl after a six-year hiatus with “Thrill Driver,” an action-filled ad with an all-star cast with the likes of Eugene Levy, Brie Larson, Catherine O’Hara, Dave Bautista, and Danai Gurira. It predominantly spotlights the non-electric 2023 Nissan Z, with Eugene Levy picturing himself in an action movie thanks to this zippy sports car.
However, the commercial ends with Brie Larson taking back her keys and getting into the all-electric Nissan Ariya. This represents that electric cars are the future—Nissan has set a target to help make 40 percent of all auto sales in the US electric by 2030, and the Ariya is a step in the right direction.
WallBox: “#SuperchargedSeth”
Even though it didn’t advertise an electric car, Wallbox made its Super Bowl and TV-spot debut in its pro-electric vehicle ad, #SuperchargedSeth. Wallbox sells home charging units for electric vehicles. The company, founded in 2015, now offers a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential and semi-public use in more than 60 countries.
The 15-second spot tells the story of Seth T. Ever since he was struck by lightning over a decade ago (the ad features this real video footage), Seth has feared electricity. But, thanks to Wallbox, he embraces electricity and even has an electric car and electric charger in his garage.
Wallbox’s media materials for the ad point out that higher temperatures actually raise the frequency of lightning (an increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit in the average temperature increases the frequency of lightning strikes by 12 percent), so going electric can help others avoid being hit in the future.
DeLorean: The Future was Never Promised
In DeLorean’s 15-second teaser, the rebirth and comeback of the beloved DeLorean is teased with the tagline “The future was never promised”. Following the mysterious ad, the DeLorean Motor Company posted the teaser clip on their Twitter account along with the phrase #ElectricVehicle, officially throwing DeLorean’s hat into the electric vehicle ring. Their Facebook revealed that the DeLorean will “premiere” in 2022. The ad also invited viewers to “join us” on their site, where users can sign up for emails to be among the first to receive updates about the forthcoming electric car.
The original DeLorean DMC-12 was made famous in the Back to the Future trilogy from the 1980s as Doc Brown’s time machine. However, DeLorean never reaped the benefits of the movies—it closed down in 1982, three years before the first film premiered.
