Advertisers Strike Back

Super Bowl Sunday is a day filled with parties, snacks, football, and commercials.

Yes, for many folks, what happens during the game is actually secondary to what takes place during breaks in the action, when advertisers celebrate their biggest day of the year by bombarding the nation with commercials. As in the past, automakers will be showcasing their wares with spots in the big game, and also as in past years, they'll be using humor to get the message across.

Of course, some of the humor was downplayed over the past few years as the country suffered through the Great Recession. Hyundai pitched its Assurance program (which allowed those who lost their income to return their new car) and Chrysler used the 2011 game to debut its memorable "Imported From Detroit" spot.

Now, though, the laughs are back. Last year, Volkswagen had a well-received ad that involved a kid in a Darth Vader costume trying to channel his inner dark side. This year, the brand is following up with a spot involving a dog determined to get back into car-chasing shape, with a nice call-back to the Vader spot at the end. Hyundai has several humorous spots--one involves a jungle cat--and Chevy is using an end-of-the-world scenario to promote the durability of its trucks. Let's not forget Audi's swipe at the Twilight craze, Kia's use of a man's ultimate fantasy to sell the Optima, and Toyota's giggle-inducing spot promoting the updated Camry. Also keep an eye out for an Acura spot that will bring back fond memories of the dearly departed TV show Seinfeld. Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Honda CR-V ad featuring actor Matthew Broderick reprising his role as the legendary Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Only Cadillac seems to be going straightforward with its ad for the new ATS, and even that commercial takes a snarky potshot at German competitors. There are rumors that Chrysler might do another "serious" ad, though (according to a report on Jalopnik), involving Clint Eastwood.

That's a lot of automotive advertising--will there even be room for beer commercials? All kidding aside, the fact that so many automakers are willing to pump so much money into the Super Bowl coupled with the liberal use of humor makes us think that the auto industry is finally climbing out of the dark days of the recession.

We're glad to see that. Not just because of the obvious economic ramifications, but because we love to laugh and we think that using humor is a great way to sell cars. Advertisers need to give consumers a good reason not to fast-forward through commercials when using their DVR, and humor is as good a reason as any.

It doesn't matter to us that a Kia Optima probably isn’t the car that performance enthusiasts would choose in a dream sequence involving a racetrack, a rock band, a supermodel, and a grandstand full of bikini-clad women, because the ad makes us laugh. Nor does it matter that the bland Camry is the genesis behind one of this year's funnier ads.

Funny car commercials have run in the Super Bowl before, and not just in recent years (remember the Volkswagen GTI ad from a while back in which the car gets stuck in a tree?). But this year, the automakers seem to be tripping all over each other to garner the most laughs and the most buzz.

Free-market thinkers often suggest that competition can bring out the best among corporate rivals. When it comes to humorous diversions that interrupt the biggest football game of the year at pre-determined intervals, we tend to agree.

[Source: The Car Connection]