EVs win the Super Bowl!

Well, electric vehicle commercials did.

In good ol’ US of A there’s nothing like Super Bowl weekend to bring the country together. The football itself is just a small part of the show – for most it’s more about the beers, hotdogs and half-time entertainment.

Yes, this mid-game break is when the proper action happens, revolving around headline music acts and big-dollar commercials.

For 2022, car companies went big on promoting their electric vehicles. No small thing when a 30-second slot during the ball game is rumoured to cost up to US$7million ($10million).

Here are highlights of what the auto industry laid on this year. The Los Angeles Rams may have won the game, but who won the far more important battle of the ads? You be the judge.

BMW

An acting masterclass from Arnold Schwarzenegger as he takes on the role of Zeus, gifted a BMW iX by his wife (and sister) Hera – played by Salma Hayek. Seemingly not perturbed by the iX’s giant faux grille, Zeus asks: “All-electric?” before singing ‘Electric Avenue’ as the couple use their electric superpowers along a deserted boulevard. A bold claim from BMW too, closing with ‘The Ultimate Electric Driving Machine.’

General Motors

Clever, this one. And expensive at 90-seconds. Mike Myers returns as Dr Evil… or Dr EV-il (see what they did there?) Scott Evil explains climate change is the main threat to the world and, having taken over GM, Dr EV-il is prepared to first save the world before taking it over as well. “We’re going all-electric!” he cries as GM states it will offer 30 EVs globally by 2025.

Kia

It’s a cute robot dog getting excited watching a chap plug in his Kia EV6. He follows, tries to catch it and – spoiler alert – the pup runs out of charge just as he’s about to fly through the sunroof. Our hero Kia driver plugs robo-mutt in, it seems they’re made for each other and drive off into the sunset and ‘Live Fully Charged.’ Touching.

Polestar

Others favour fun; Polestar is deadly serious. It says it doesn’t need epic voice overs or punchlines – and, rather cuttingly, no dieselgate or conquering Mars either – just the no-nonsense Polestar 2. Classic Swede minimalism. Probably not enjoyed by ball game fans on their 14th Bud.

Chevrolet

Cool music, edgy camera work, New York city scenes and a Sopranos theme. The first all-electric Chevy Silverado (with fancy rear-wheel steer, we note) is ready for the ‘new generation’. No getting muddy, no towing a house, no work tools in the back. Just cruising empty city streets (just like the real New York!) and being plugged in while our stars get cwaffee.

Nissan

Centred around the new Z sportscar, it takes the spotlight ahead of the the all-electric Nissan Ariya. Plenty of stars on board, so they need to take the SUV EV home, not the little coupe.

Toyota

Er… guess Toyota in America isn’t quite yet onboard with this EV promoting stuff. Drag racing a brace of Tundra pickups (one being the 326kW twin-turbo V6 petrol TRD Pro) kind of sticks two fingers up to the whole EV stuff. A fun ad, but much petrol burned during its creation.

Porsche

A commercial for the new Top Gun movie Maverick as much as Porsche. A good start with the all-electric Mission R electric race car, then the Taycan, before GT3 drifty fun. Tom Cruise provides the required cheesiness…but we children of the 80s approve.

Wallbox

Okay, not a car company, but if Wallbox (to charge your EV at home) can afford an ad slot at the Super Bowl it must be doing good business. We meet a lightning strike survivor and learn how he may not be best friends with electricity, but wants to be “saving time, money and doing my part for the environment,” by having an EV. Good man.