- GM’s Super Bowl 56 ad is using villains from the “Austin Powers” movie franchise to promote its new electric vehicles.
- The ad stars actors Mike Myers, Rob Lowe and others, reclaiming roles from the spy comedy trilogy that ran from 1997 to 2002.
- In 2021, the automaker resurrected the 1990 film “Edward Scissorhands” as a basis to promote its luxury Cadillac brand.
DETROIT – General Motors is riding the wave of nostalgic Hollywood reboots for its Super Bowl 56 commercial with the resurrection of villains from the “Austin Powers” movie franchise to promote its new electric vehicles.
The 60-second spot stars actor and comedian Mike Myers, reclaiming his role as Dr. Evil from the spy comedy trilogy that ran from 1997 to 2002. It also features Dr. Evil’s sidekicks, Rob Lowe, Seth Green and Mindy Sterling.
The ad starts with the villains taking over GM’s headquarters in Detroit. Dr. Evil then plans to topple the world, but the henchmen convince him to instead first fight climate change — “arguably the No. 1 threat to the world now,” Green’s character says. The ad also features jokes and themes from the movie franchise.
The “Austin Powers” nostalgia is the automaker’s lead in to a presentation of its new Ultium electric vehicle platform, several new EVs and autonomous concept vehicles, including a simulated flying car.
The ad is part of the automaker’s “Everybody In” marketing campaign, which it announced just over a year ago to promote these car categories, including 30 new EVs globally by 2025.
“We still need to continue work on that idea of normalizing EVs and help Americans across the country actually see themselves in one,” GM Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said during a media briefing. “This is really a core part of our entire business strategy at General Motors. We’ll have an EV for every price point and lifestyle.”
GM’s “Everybody In” campaign made its Super Bowl debut last year, with an ad featuring actor and comedian Will Ferrell waging a battle against Norway over EVs.
The new ad marks the second consecutive year GM is rebooting a movie for a Super Bowl ad. In 2021, the automaker resurrected the 1990 film “Edward Scissorhands” as a basis to promote its luxury Cadillac brand.
Wahl declined to comment on how much GM spent to produce and air the “Austin Powers” ad. A 30-second spot in the Super Bowl costs advertisers around $6.5 million, with multiple spots selling for $7 million, according to industry magazine AdAge.
Below is a 90-second version of GM’s new ad, which the company released Thursday ahead of Sunday’s game. It was developed by the Detroit-based office of McCann Worldgroup.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
