GM tops the winners of the Super Bowl ads among automakers

The tens of millions of dollars that General Motors and Stellantis spent to advertise during Sunday night’s big game got attention from car shoppers, according to online car shopping resource Edmunds.com.

The vehicles and brands featured by GM and Stellantis saw spikes in consumer traffic to Edmunds’ website following the splashy ads during the game. Edmunds also reports a lift in the share of traffic viewing Kia’s Telluride SUV after the South Korean carmaker ran its ad. Ford Motor Co. did not advertise in the Super Bowl.

GM, in a partnership with Netflix, kicked off the automotive ads with a second quarter spot starring actor Will Ferrell called, “Why not an EV?” It featured GM’s EV lineup in cameos in various Netflix shows. For example, Ferrell picks up a runaway bride in a GMC Hummer EV in a snippet from “Love is Blind” and he walks arm-in-arm with a woman in 1800s-era England to a Cadillac Lyriq in a scene from “Bridgerton.”

GM CMO Deborah Wahl told the Free Press in an email Monday that, “While some ads are simply a moment in time, this Super Bowl we’ve launched a movement that places EVs into the epicenter of modern culture.  We continue to see the benefits of announcing this movement on the world’s largest stage.”

GM did not immediately provide data reflecting increases in traffic to its websites from the ad, but GM spokeswoman Anne Roberts said Google reported a spike in searches for EVs in general. She said like Google and Edmunds, “we also see an increase in traffic directly tied to our Super Bowl efforts.”

Ford opts out as competitors tout EVs

Stellantis aired a 60-second ad in the second quarter featuring its electrified Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe in its “Electric Boogie” spot. It introduced its RAM 1500 REV in its “Premature Electrification” spot in the middle of the fourth quarter. 

Stellantis spokeswoman Diane Morgan said the automaker saw “a significant increase to total site visits on the Ram Trucks brand side (RamTrucks.com and RamREV.com) far exceeding the January daily average.” The company also saw significant increases on Jeep brand’s site traffic. Jeep Wrangler had its strongest visit volume in the last 12 months, with concentration tied to the 4xe electric plug-in nameplate and Grand Cherokee also saw the model’s highest volume of site visits in last four months.

“EVs were clearly the big theme this year and although brands are shining a spotlight on future products rather than advertising what they might currently be selling, this makes sense in light of the supply shortages and the importance of electrification to automakers’ future viability,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights, in a statement.

Ford CEO Jim Farley told analysts in June that it is better to spend money on updating vehicles to win customer loyalty than on pricey Super Bowl ads.

“If you ever see Ford Motor Co. doing a Super Bowl ad on our electric vehicles, sell the stock,” Farley said.