Marques spend big on Super Bowl ads

Carmakers turned to superstar cameos as they poured millions of dollars into promoting their vehicles during this year’s Super Bowl.

The commercials developed to entertain, inform and sell products on the biggest stage in television cost as much as US$5.6 million (NZ$8.7m) per 30 seconds this year. 

Kia chose an NFL star for its advertisement during the game on February 3 (NZT), which saw the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers.

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs is driving an SUV, imagining what advice he would give his younger self, reports NPR. Jacobs grew up homeless on the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in the commercial he is watching a young black boy sprint across the streets of the area’s struggling neighbourhoods. “Push yourself to be someone,” Jacobs says, “and I promise, someday, you will.”

Movie star Bill Murray, pictured, reprised his role from the 1993 film Groundhog Day to promote Jeep’s Gladiator truck. This time, he steals the groundhog in the vehicle, living a new adventure every day thanks to his car. 

Hyundai picked actors Chris Evans, Rachel Dratch and John Krasinski to tout its “remote smart park” feature, which guides cars into tight spaces on its own.

A number of companies chose the NFL’s showpiece to promote electric vehicles, including Porsche. The luxury carmaker’s ad was called “The Heist” and featured a Porsche Taycan EV being stolen from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.

Audi’s commercial featured Frozen star Maisie Williams driving an Audi e-Tron through the streets of Los Angeles, while GMC turned to NBA superstar LeBron James to help promote its upcoming Hummer electric vehicle.

Celebrity couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen featured in the advert for Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury unit showing off the brand’s first luxury SUV, the GV80. Toyota recruited actor Cobie Smulders as it turned the focus on its Highlander SUV.