The best car ads from the 2021 Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers go head-to-head this Monday (Sunday American time) for Super Bowl LV.

The American Football Super Bowl (think AFL Grand Final on steroids) has an audience of over 103 million people worldwide, the majority of which are in the US. With viewership like that, advertising during the game commands big dollars. It’s estimated that a 30 second ad spot can cost between $5 million and $5.6 Million USD. EACH.

So, if you’re planning on spending that type of dough to advertise to the biggest engaged TV audience in the world, you better put on a fantastically memorable show. Things we’ve come to expect from Super Bowl ads are big name celebrity cameos, funny storylines and memorable moments.

In the COVID era though, major car brands who traditionally advertise during the Super Bowl have decided to take a break and instead direct their large budgets to more sensible initiatives. Brands including Kia, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are among the advertisers who have said they have no plans to run ads during the game.

Hyundai who is a big TV ad spender in the US has released a statement saying that they were breaking their ad streak with the Super Bowl (12 out of the last 13 years). The decision was “based on marketing priorities, the timing of upcoming vehicle launches and where we felt it was best to allocate our marketing resources.”

According to advertising industry website Adage, during the 2020 Super Bowl, six car brands consumed a total of seven minutes and 30 seconds of airtime, spending an estimated $77 million on media buys.

So which car brands did decide to splash the cash in 2021? Here are the top car-related ads from the 2021 Super Bowl LV for your viewing pleasure.

Actor Will Ferrell stars in General Motors’ EV-centric ad where he is waging a battle against Norway.

The comedic ad called “No Way, Norway” also features comedians Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina as Ferrell recruits them and their GM EVs to “crush them.”

Why Norway? It’s the world’s top-selling electric vehicle market per capita. Full-electric cars made up 54 per cent of all new cars sold in the Nordic country in 2020 with the Audi E-Tron the top-selling.

In 2021, Ford has decided to instead of spruiking their latest model, EV or self-driving technology that they would instead highlight their ongoing efforts to fight coronavirus, noting that “soon we will be what we were — touching, loving, living.” The #FinishStrong campaign focuses on donating PPE to underserved communities and designing new products to protect people from the virus.

You won’t see any cars in Toyota’s Super Bowl ad this year. Like Ford, the Japanese car maker has taken a more inspirational and uplifting approach to their ad spot using it to share the story of US Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long. The company said it wants to share an “uplifting message of hope and strength” which is a very post COVID world thing to do.

Cadillac has created a super fun parody of Tim Burton's 1990 film, Edward Scissorhands. The ad sees actor Timothée Chalamet cast as Edgar Scissorhands, the son of Edward, dreaming of driving a car. Winona Ryder reprises her role as Kim Boggs and gets her scissor handed son a new electric SUV with hands-free self-driving tech.

Bruce Springsteen has finally appeared in an ad. It's believed that Jeep finally persuaded Springsteen after a 10-year pursuit to get him to collaborate on a project with them. The 71-year-old rocker has resisted offers to endorse products or allow his songs to be used in ads until now.

So why the change in heart? As seen in this Jeep spot, Springsteen delivers a monologue that calls for national unity. "The Middle" centres on a small church in Lebanon, Kansas, that sits at the geographic centre of the country. The legendary rocker and poet calls for the fractured country to come together and find common ground as a nation.

UPDATE: Jeep has since pulled it's Springsteen campaign offline on Wednesday after it was revealed that the singer had been arrested for drink driving on November 14 at a national park in New Jersey. He was charged with drink driving, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area.

The video still remains on Springsteen's Instagram page, albeit with many comments about this latest revelation.

Related: The best car ads from the 2020 Super Bowl

Related: The top Super Bowl car related ads of 2019

Related: Car makers go big for 2017 Super Bowl