While we're hardly advertising analysts, of all the TV spots that we endured while watching the Superbowl, Hyundai's Genesis commercials seemed to be the most clear and cohesive (unlike some other automakers). Apparently, we weren't alone.
Nielsen's Online MegaPanel Survey crunched some of the data it captured from viewers during the game and found that Hyundai's spots were some of the best received. Overall, 43-percent of the people polled said that the ads improved their view of Hyundai's image, while 57-percent thought that the ads were informative – essentially telling them something new – and 45-percent thought the spots where "believable."
Hopefully some of that goodwill transfers over to dealerships when Hyundai launches the Genesis sedan later this year. It's certainly more of a game-changer than Audi's "old luxury" campaign and it may finally pull Hyundai's image out of the bargain-basement brand identity that it's so fervently trying to escape.
We've embedded Hyundai's Superbowl spots after the jump, along with their press release.
click above to view high-res gallery of the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
If you've made it far enough in professional football to be named the most valuable player at the Super Bowl, chances are you can already afford any car you want. So Eli Manning, star quarterback for the champion New York Giants, chose something he couldn't have: the Cadillac Escalade Two-Mode Hybrid.
As part of the MVP award, Manning was given his choice of any Cadillac he wanted. He must have been up on the latest car news (reading Autoblog in between games and practices?) and told GM that, with the hybrid Escalade coming out this summer, he wanted the first one. Maybe he saw all the ads for the truck during the game.
click above to watch the first commercial from Chrysler's new campaign
Chrysler wants to get the message out that its listening to customers and responding quickly to improve its products. To that end, the privately-owned automaker is kicking off a new ad blitz this weekend with three commercials set to air in conjunction with the Super Bowl. The three ads you'll see this weekend are product specific and focus on the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander (the Jeep spot can be watched after the jump), though there are a total of eight product specific ads that will eventually be aired during Super Tuesday programming, the Indy 500 and the Oscars. In addition, Chrysler's also got an animated cross-brand ad titled "Listen to You" (screen shot above and more in the gallery below) that shows a kid creating his own car company by, what else, listening to what people want. The whole campaign is called "It's A New Day", and you'll likely be seeing it everywhere soon.
Of course, for all that listening Chrysler is doing, there ought to be something to show for it, and there is. While better interiors won't happen overnight, Chrysler has developed 12 new vehicle packages for its models that bundle previously pricey options together at a lower cost. All 12 of the packages can be seen after the jump, but most include upgrades like the best available wheel package, chrome trim, premium leather, heated seats and the automaker's MyGig entertainment system with in-dash hard drive and navigation system where applicable. In each case, the cost of the package is far below the sum of the individual options. Check out the first Jeep ad after the jump, along with Chrysler's official press release.
click above image to view Hyundai's Super Bowl commercials
The Super Bowl is this Sunday, and that means we get to see the best commercials that money can buy, and perhaps some football, as well. Hyundai was unsure whether it wanted to spend $2.5m a pop for two :30 spots (a voice over by the Dude doesn't come cheap), but in the end the South Korean automaker decided the Genesis sedan was a big-time product, and it deserved a spot on the world's biggest stage. We loaded both of Hyundai's ads after the jump, and we like what we see.
Hyundai deliberately shied away from any sort of pizazz or funny gimmicks, instead focusing on the virtues of its 375-hp rear-wheel-drive sedan. The silver Genesis on center stage, which is actually the Korean market model (note the winged "Genesis" hood badge and home-market grille), looks great in motion, and Hyundai didn't waste any time needling the luxury car competition. The two spots reference the Genesis having 7-Series and S-Class size with a price tag closer to that of the 3-Series or C-Class. Both spots knock the fact that most Super Bowl ads are about entertainment instead of great products, and both :30 ads drive home the point that Hyundai has a potential game-changer on its hands. We're not advertising experts, but we'd consider this $5m well spent. Follow the jump to preview the ads. Thanks for the tip, Alex!
Audi has updated its U.S. website with a short video that features a counter ticking the time away "until the moment of truth." The seconds flying by lead up to the date and time of Super Bowl XLII this Sunday. Below is a short message that says, "On February 3, 2008, over 140 million TV viewers will witness the start of a new era. Register now for your exclusive sneak preview... and more."
While the video only shows dark glimpses of the R8's wheel and headlight, something tells us Audi has big things planned for its very expensive Godfather-themed Super Bowl commercial. Registering on Audi's website will get you a free sneak preview of the ad on the morning of the Super Bowl, so we have, of course, already signed up and will let you know what we see.
While tipsters are telling us that an R8 Cabrio may debut in the ad, we've found no hard evidence to back this up. Instead, we expect the ad to introduce a new image of Audi to American consumers. Audi lacks the prestige and cachet of brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the United States, and from what Scott Keogh, marketing head for Audi of America, has already revealed, it sounds as if the German brand will position its German competitors as old farts compared to the new hotness that is Audi. Thanks to everyone who sent us this tip!
[Source: Audi]
BONUS! We've included a high-res preview gallery of the 2008 Audi R8 that we've just had in the Autoblog Garage. Our review of the R8 is coming soon, so enjoy this sneak preview in the mean time.
The Super Bowl is the single biggest advertising day of the year. Somewhere in the mix of all the great ads, a football game gets played, but the next day all we can talk about are the commercials. Back in October, Hyundai went all in purchasing two :30 spots during the big game. Earlier this week, however, the Korean automaker said it was backing out of the Super Bowl because of a weakening U.S. economy coupled with the exorbitant price of the spots. If you're disappointed that the Italic H isn't going to be represented at the game, don't be, because Hyundai has changed its tune. After only a few days on the sidelines, Hyundai is getting back in the game and the ads will go on as scheduled. It's not known whether Hyundai is merely trying to get free pub in advance of the expensive spots, but we do know that since Hyundai has caused all the stir, the ads had better be good.
The economy appears to be swooning, and before we land softly (or crash hard), company's have begun to circle their wagons and reduce unnecessary spending. This often translates directly into reducing advertising budgets. It's tough for an automaker to skimp on engineering and we've all seen what happens when beancounters design an interior. Advertising, however, is low-hanging budgetary fruit. Hyundai's concern over the U.S. economy is a motivating factor in the automaker's move to reconsider its pricey Super Bowl advertising.
Hyundai announced in October that it would be burning $5.4 million dollars for a mere minute of TV air time, committing to two spots during the February 3rd broadcast. Now, Hyundai's Chris Hosford tells Automotive News that they're looking at the strategy and asking themselves if that's the best use of their ad budget for the first quarter. Superbowl spots are usually expensive to produce, too, as the commercials stand a chance of garnering more banter on February 4th than the actual game does if they're interesting. Hugely expensive airtime and humongous charges from their agency all for just a minute of TV? Yeah, we'd be taking a second look, too.
That brings the total number of automakers advertising during the Super Bowl down to three: Chevy, Audi and Toyota. Oh yeah, we'll be watching.
When viewers tune-in to watch the 42nd annual Super Bowl on February 3rd, four automakers – Chevrolet, Hyundai, Toyota and Audi – will compete for the hearts and minds of the gridiron-obsessed masses.
Chevy is only planning one, 60-second ad during the second quarter, while Cadillac will be featured during the pre- and post-game shows. Toyota has two spots of undetermined length, which are expected to hype the redesigned Sequoia and the Tundra pickup, while Hyundai will finally throw its hat onto the Astroturf with two, 30-second spots.
Audi is returning to the game after a 20-year hiatus with a minute-long ad featuring the R8, and we'd expect the spot to focus on the automaker's blitz to become the dominant luxury manufacturer on Earth.
Also of note, Cars.com will be ponying up the required $2.7 million dollars for a 30-second spot, which is causing us to consider renting some ad time on the Goodyear blimp -- or just shooting Neff out of a cannon with an Autoblog-badged cape.
Being the pundits we are, we have plenty to say in Autoblog Podcast #58. We start right off addressing the rumors of a GM/Chrysler deal, and offer myraid reasons why it's not a good idea yet may be justifiable to some folks. We move on to flogging the VW/GM suicide commercial debate for a little while, which sets the stage for us discussing the Daytona 500, naturally. It's also revealed that John's on board to give NASCAR as much of a chance as he can stomach this season. So far, that amounts to about an hour and a half before the siren song of video games becomes too loud to ignore. Wrapping up, we trade opinions on the Maserati Coupe and the Audi A5 before touching briefly on the impending XM/Sirius merger. It's chock-full of good stuff this time around, so enjoy the 'cast! We'll try and have an enhanced version with video up for you as soon as possible.
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Among those sounding the gong against GM cowing to an anti-suicide group's offense at its Superbowl spot is the star of the commercial himself. The robot, who shall henceforth be referred to as Ricky, reveals a few things about the production, and how the spot plays to the robot population. It was interesting to learn that the bridge jumper was a stunt double who'd had his entrails removed prior to the leap. Certainly makes the spot seem more like a snuff film now, doesn't it? We hope the Anti Snuff Film Congress or some other group of Dudley Do-Rights will keep their traps shut and just deal with being offended for five minutes.
Basically, Ricky takes his own offense to the AFSP's offense at the spot, and expresses what we all would like to say. Lighten up for five damn minutes and let us enjoy our football game. He also points out that there's been no crying over the other spots, which could be seen as offensive to some other cabal of crusaders bent on being whiny for their cause. At least Ricky has his SAG card, so he can supplement his income during plant shutdowns. We'll keep an eye on movies that feature robots, hoping to catch a glimpse of the little yellow devil. In the meantime, we couldn't agree more when Ricky says - "this touchy-feely s*** is totally outta control in this country."
The Super Bowl is the single biggest advertising day of the year. Somewhere in the mix of all the great ads, a football game gets played, but the next day all we can talk about are the commercials. Back in October, Hyundai went all in purchasing two :30 spots during the big game. Earlier this week, however, the Korean automaker said it was 
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