Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles — or harken back to the nostalgic past of ’90 movies like “Austin Powers.”
The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the Cincinnati Bengals during the Super Bowl on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials.
Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humor and star-studded entertainment as America remains mired in the pandemic, inflation remains at 40-year highs and tensions remain high between Russia and the Ukraine.
Nostalgia is always a safe bet to win over viewers during the Super Bowl, and this year is no different.
General Motors has enlisted Mike Myers for an “Austin Powers”-themed ad that features a reprise of his role as Austin Powers’ nemesis, Dr. Evil. Sidekicks played by Rob Lowe, Seth Green and Mindy Sterling also join.
Dan Cobb, who founded the Rochester, Michigan-based Daniel Brian Advertising agency, says the GM ad succeeds in getting across the automaker’s message of its electric future.
But, he says: “Some people will feel that they got a little bit used — that they used that culture to sell their corporate message.”
(Video from commercial provided by General Motors via Associated Press)