Join Autoblog editors Sunday starting around 6:30 p.m. ET as we react to all of the car commercials during the game. We know Hummer, Porsche, Hyundai and others will have splashy ads, and naturally, there's usually a few surprises. Whether you're a Chiefs or 49ers fan — or don't care about football — the commercials are always a highlight. And for us, the car spots are the most intriguing. Weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section. Let's kick off.
FIRST QUARTER
Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore liveblogs the first quarter.
We'll count this as a car commercial. The latest edition of the Fast & Furious looks like it well, will have cars. We'll punt on further comment.
I like it. Creative. Sort of a Night at the Museum feel. The guards stage a theft and then a car chase. The Taycan looked good. Get fired up — the future for Porsche is electric. The spot is meant to illustrate how fun that can be. I don't need any convincing.
SECOND QUARTER
Associate Editor Byron Hurd is liveblogging the second quarter.
Hyundai checked in super early with their Sonata "Smaht Pahk" commercial, which manages to score points for being both cute and clever while also being a fairly good commercial in a vacuum. We saw it last week, so there were no surprises here, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
Fun note: If you go to the Sonata landing page on Hyundai's web site, you can choose "plain old English" or "the Boston way" for your language; the latter will translate the page. Enjoy.
Hi ho, West Coast Editor James Riswick here. Apparently, the guys in Detroit didn't get the Mustang Mach E ad featuring Idris Elba and a whole boat load of awesome old Mustangs. Pretty sure it's bound to be viewed the exact same way as the car itself: traditionalists will be aghast, while non-car people will be intrigued by a new, all-electric, crossover version of one of the few cars they've heard of.
They're coming more rapidly now. Genesis gets some love thanks to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend; this was another known quantity, but Hyundai's luxury brand managed another solid entry here thanks to its choice of stars. Teigen and Legend got the chance to throw back to the latter's "Sexiest Man Alive" honors, which Teigen often teases him for. Another solid all-around spot.
Are there just no surprises left? Don't tell me; I know the answer. LeBron James fronts the revived Hummer, which will be an EV sold as a GMC. None of it really makes any sense, and these stitched-together 15-second spots are questionable, but we no less excited to see what GM has in store for the new electric pickup.
HALFTIME
Assistant Editor Editor Zac Palmer is liveblogging halftime.
DAYTONA 500
And NASCAR takes the field right after Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Fantastic halftime show, by the way. The Daytona 500 runs on Feb. 16 for those who want to catch the spectacle. I didn't see any left turns in the quick clip. A missed opportunity, at any rate.
No automakers did full length halftime commercials this year. We'll keep our eyes peeled in the third quarter.
THIRD QUARTER
And now, coming in from the Portland bullpen with a faulty metaphor, West Coast Editor James Riswick is liveblogging the third quarter.
Is Doritos a car company? It is not. But hey, its ad featured a horse, which is a vehicle ... ish. And I just have to say that Lil Nas X riding a horse with giant speakers draped over the hind end gave me a chuckle. So props to you Doritos. Which reminds me, why don't I have any Doritos? #SuperBowlFail
As our editors are spread throughout the country, we've noticed that not every commercial is being shown in every market. I didn't see the following in Portland, so take it away Tony ...
What's up! Chicago contributor Tony Markovich here. Kia had the first car commercial of the third quarter and showed off the new Seltos crossover. Featuring Josh Jacobs, who was homeless for part of his childhood, the commercial ties into the company's new tagline, "Give it Everything." It's certainly inspirational, but it's still a bit of a random tie-in for a commercial.
And I guess that's it for the third. Now turning things over to Jeremy in Columbus, Ohio. Portland and Chicago out.
FOURTH QUARTER
Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski is currently holding up four fingers and bringing us home.
Cobie Smulders, who, according to James, is a "Canadian treasure" (I had no idea), just picked up a Toyota Highlander's worth of movie tropes. Point being, I guess, is that the Highlander is roomy. I wonder if you could fit in the entire San Francisco offensive line in there?
I also saw commercials for my local Columbus-area Lamborghini and Porsche dealerships. That was unexpected.
Gotta hand it to Jeep, that's a fun commercial. It features a bright orange Gladiator, a cute little (animatronic) critter, and American treasure (sorry, James) Bill Murray. Bringing back other well-known members of the movie cast was a fun addition, too. As an interesting little side note, this was Murray's first-ever nationally televised commercial. Pretty cool that Jeep got him to do it. "I imagine they drove a dumptruck full of money up to his house," quips contributor Joe Lorio.
And now back to the game, which is getting good in the fourth quarter.
And now it's time for Audi to trot out Maisie Williams for a Frozen-themed Let it Go commercial. I've never seen Frozen, but I've (of course) heard the song. In case it's not clear, what we're being prompted to let go are fossil fuels, since the e-tron Sportback is electric. And while we're talking about things that aren't clear, why the lower-case e-tron but capitalized Sportback? Strange.
And that ends the game, and therefore our live blog of the commercials. Unless something else surprises us during the postgame ceremonies, we're outta here. Thanks for tuning in!
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