The number of viewers from around the world, including the United States, watching the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is in the billions each year, and the advertisements of automobile corporations are declining. Super Bowl TV ads, which can cost hundreds of millions of won per slot, serve as a barometer for the global industrial landscape; this year, only one automotive company participated. This is attributed to the electric vehicle chasm and the uncertainty of domestic and international conditions.
According to reports from automotive news outlets, including Automotive News, the only automaker participating in this year's NFL Super Bowl advertising was Stellantis. Stellantis is a corporation formed by the merger of Italy's Chrysler and France's PSA Group. Stellantis aired commercials for the American pickup truck and commercial vehicle brand RAM and the off-roader sport utility vehicle brand Jeep during this Super Bowl.
Super Bowl advertisements by automakers have been declining annually. In 2022, eight companies, including Polestar, General Motors (GM), Nissan, and Toyota, showcased electric vehicle ads on a large scale. That year, Kia advertised the EV6, GM promoted the Silverado EV, and Polestar highlighted the Polestar 2. In 2023, the number shrank to three companies: Kia, GM, and Stellantis, while last year, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen, and BMW participated. In 2018, there were 11 companies.
In the past decade, except for 2021, Hyundai Motors and Kia have advertised at the Super Bowl every year, but both opted out this year. Kia's U.S. subsidiary, which had participated annually since 2021, did not run ads this year due to a lack of new vehicles.
The reason traditional heavyweights in Super Bowl advertising, namely automobile corporations, are decreasing their emphasis is attributed to weak electric vehicle demand. Many firms have spent significant investment capital during their transition to electric vehicles, yet the revenue generated has not matched these expenditures. Furthermore, with the increasing uncertainty caused by economic recession and tariff policies of the Trump administration, there is a general trend of reducing marketing expenses.
This year's Super Bowl advertising cost is estimated at $8 million (approximately 1.16 billion won) for a 30-second spot. Known as the most expensive advertisement in the world, Super Bowl ads have predominantly been taken up by the industries with the hottest investment enthusiasm each year. The vacancy left by the absence of automobile corporations has been filled by mainstream and consumer goods companies. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, participated in Super Bowl advertising for the first time this year.