2020 Super Bowl LIV Pre-Game Commercial Roundup

Time to celebrate America, undiagnosed head trauma, and the greatest marketing teams in all the land on Sunday night with the fifty-fourth chapter of The Big Game.

It’s an excuse to eat and drink to excess — but many people don’t need an excuse. More, it’s the one time per year where most people won’t be waiting for commercial breaks to get up and pee, since the commercials are often the best part of the night.

As I have no rooting interest in the game — I’m from Ohio, which means the only truly professional team here isn’t eligible since it plays in the NCAA, and my Wisconsin roots are disappointed in the Packers — you know I’ll be hitting pause on the DVR to re-watch the greatest short films trying to sell me something. And I’ll have my laptop at the ready, posting new commercials as they appear.

So be sure to come back Sunday night and keep me company as I (sorta) liveblog the Super Bowl automotive commercials. Many of them have already hit the virtual airwaves, so here’s a pregame rundown:

Porsche

Porsche returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in many years with a long spot highlighting its electric Taycan, making the EV sedan look as fun to drive as the company’s heritage cars — including the epic Penske/Donohue 917-30.

Hyundai

Hyundai clearly was betting on the Patriots to make it to the big game this year, as they’ve enlisted Boston-area stars to highlight the Smart Parking feature on the new Sonata. Excuse me: Smaht Pahk.

Audi

Audi triggered parents with kids of a certain age (those who blossomed around the time Frozen became available on BluRay) with actress Maisie Williams singing Let It Go. I’m reminded of a combo birthday/Halloween party for my youngest where we had roughly a dozen Elsas singing this all damned night. I’d have gotten in an E-Tron and driven away, too.

Chrysler

Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as snarky, Pacifica-driving mom — though if you read between the lines, it’s not completely clear that Chrysler plans to show this during the game.

Kia

Kia focuses on the problem of youth homelessness by highlighting Josh Jacobs, a first-year professional running back who occasionally had to live in a car with his dad as he grew up.

I’m including a second video here — a brief documentary about Jacobs’ young life.

GMC/Hummer

As Chad pointed out yesterday, Hummer is back — as an EV pickup under the GMC umbrella. They’ve teased the reveal with a couple of brief spots:

This is all that’s hit Youtube as of publication. Check back Sunday night, and I’ll post videos as they appear during the game.