The final word on the Super Bowl EV ad blitz

Kevin Krim, CEo of EDO, said Polestar’s spot was so effective because it satisfied three rules for a smashing Super Bowl ad. First, it was truly new (Polestar is not Chevrolet, nor Tesla). Second, its creative elements were very well-executed. As Krim said, it had “striking visuals, and was both quiet and had pulse-pounding music.” Third, it “deliberately poked the eye of the celebrity complex.”

Of course, a company needs to do more than just poke eyes. It needs to deliver on its intriguing promise with a product. And just as importantly, it needs to sell it, and selling cars is about more than automaker intentions. As Krim notes, automotive advertisements come in three tiers. Tier one is the automakers themselves, and Super Bowl spots; Tier 2 is controlled by regional or multi-state dealer associations; Tier 3 is local company TV buys.

Just because the Detroit 3 want to sell EVs, doesn’t mean that every local dealer has ready buyers for them.

That said, I see reason to follow the automakers’ commitment to EVs down through dealers and to consumers. One reason is what is called “conquest marketing”—the ability to win over new consumers to your brand. Ford noted late last year that more than 70 percent of customers reserving its electric Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning models were “new to Ford.” That’s a powerful signal to other brands to try for the same.

A 2021 survey by Alix Partners found that 19 percent of U.S. consumers were very likely to buy a battery-electric vehicle as their next car, up from 5 percent in 2019. That’s plenty of room for conquest, so to speak. Alix Partners also noted that in the U.S., 36 percent of those interested in EVs say that “friends and family is their biggest purchase-influencer”—the same friends and family gathered to watch the Super Bowl, and talk about it afterwards.

Two final thoughts. The first is that today’s EV buyers are exactly the demographic that automakers and dealers want to target. Half of all U.S. EV buyers in the first three quarters of 2021 are in management, professional, or technical occupations, and 60 percent of U.S. EV buyers are under the age of 50. That age cohort explains the stars of Super Bowl ads—be they 90s action heroes, comedic leads, or flawed-yet-compelling North Jersey families (admittedly, Schwarzenegger is a bit of an exception).

The second is that a thorough electrification of road transport—or what most car buyers will call “getting an EV”—is about more than your next car. It’s also about your next next car. It’s about a whole host of things beyond just the vehicle itself, from people’s brand impressions to their family needs to the infrastructure needed to support tens and then hundreds of millions of EVs on the road.

Chevrolet released a behind-the-scenes video alongside its Silverado spot, which could stand alone as an ad in its own right. In it, star Jamie-Lynn Sigler says “for me, personally, we’re making the transition into electric vehicles.” Sigler implies that it is a process, not just a purchase, and I think she is right.