When people watch the New England Patriots play the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI on Sunday, many will focus solely on the outcome of the game. But some — like us here at NESN Fuel — also will tune in for the car commercials.
Super Bowl car ads come in all shapes and sizes. They can be serious, humorous, braggadocios or, sometimes, all three at the same time. Some are winners, and some are losers. We decided to wind back the clock and come up with our ten favorite Super Bowl car commercials from the last ten years.
2015: Fiat – “The FIAT Blue Pill” (and the sequel)
Have you asked your doctor about Fiat? The original commercial could make a claim for being one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time, period. And although both the ad and the 500X are great, the 2017 sequel, “No Blue Pill Needed,” brings the 124 Spider, which we love, and an absolutely hilarious ending.
2015: Nissan – “With Dad”
This commercial doesn’t have much to do with the Altima, but still is great. We’re still not sure how Nissan was able to package such a complete coming-of-age story into 90 seconds, but the results are awesome.
2011: Volkswagen – “The Force”
Plenty of great commercials get lost in the shuffle if they don’t have an immediate reason to stand out. Not the case with Volkswagen’s “The Force.” Most of us can relate to the feeling of pretending to be Darth Vader, and the ending is as good as it gets. Plus, we like Passats.
2016: Audi – “The Commander”
Depending on what day you catch us on, we might put this on the top of our list. This ad tells the story of a retired astronaut looking for a way to recapture the feeling of taking off in a rocket ship, which he’s able to do thanks to the R8. The car looks awesome in this ad, and the inclusion of “Starman” by the late David Bowie is fitting.
2009: Audi – “Through the Decades”
Throwing Jason Statham back into his “Transporter” role, this ad chronicles the history of the car chase. We love the fact that Audi had so much confidence in the A6 that it decided to have it follow a series of, in our opinion, superior-looking vehicles.
2014: Kia – “The Truth”
This one starts fairly normal, then goes absolutely bananas at the end. Having Laurence Fishburne channel “Morpheus” was great on its own, but we love the decision to poke fun at stereotypical luxury vehicle music.
2016: Acura -“What He Said”
This ad is short, and doesn’t tell the stories that some of the other commercials on this list tell, but it makes up for it with a brief, thrilling look at one of our favorite cars here at NESN Fuel.
2016: Mini – “Defy Labels”
We love brands that are self-aware. And while we love Minis, not everyone does. Mini knows this, and throws it right back in your face.
2012: Chevrolet – “Happy Grad”
This commercial is one that gets funnier the more you watch it. Its hilarity lies in its excess, as the joke wouldn’t work if it only lasted for 30 seconds. Although, to be honest, there’s nothing wrong with getting a new refrigerator for a gift.
2009: Hyundai – “Angry Bosses”
Even the most passionate gearheads occasionally struggle to pronounce “Hyundai.” Like we said before, we love brands that are self-aware, and this ad gets bonus points for not shying away from going overboard with different languages.
