Top 5 Electric Vehicle Commercials from Super Bowl LVI

With its broad appeal, the Super Bowl is a great barometer of societal norms, trends, and behaviors. So the voluminous electric vehicle ads during the 2022 event is a surefire sign that EVs have arrived in the mainstream.

Thus, I present the top 5 electric vehicle commercials during Super Bowl LVI.

5) Hyundai’s A Trip Through Time with Jason Bateman

I have this at #5 because it didn’t actually appear during the Super Bowl but during the playoffs. Still, it’s a fantastic ad, with Bateman taking a journey from cavemen to present day, the overriding theme being the growing pains of each new technology. That includes the early micro-sized smart cars, which couldn’t exactly accommodate every driver (comfortably, anyway). But the modern slate, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, are just as comfortable (and as big) as normal, gas-powered vehicles.

4) Kia’s Robo Dog

You’ve seen dogs chase cars, but what about the electric variety? In this adorable ad, a robo dog falls in love with an electric Kia EV6, and the cute faux pooch follows the car around the city from the rooftops. At last, the Kia makes a stop to recharge, and the robo dog leaps down to meets its vehicular crush, only to run out of power, itself. But the Kia’s driver is kind enough to recharge the pooch, and man, car, and robo-dog drive off together.

3) GM: Save the World then Take it Over

In one of two ads that recreate a beloved pop cultural property, this one from GM brings the whole gang from Austin Powers back together in a spot that covers General Motors’ overall EV ambitions. With Mike Myers, Mindy Sterling, Seth Green, and Rob Lowe each reprising their roles as Doctor Evil, Frau Farbissina, Scott Evil, and Number Two, respectively, the AP villains mention GM’s Ultium EV platform, ultimately concluding that they have to help save the world (from climate change) before taking it over.

2) BMW’s “Something Electric is Brewing”

The setup for this one is pure gold – the Greek God of Thunder, Zeus, decides to retire from Mount Olympus with his wife, Hera, to Palm Springs. And who better to play an aging juggernaut than Earth’s own demigod, the Austrian strongman turned movie star, governor, and activist, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the ad, Zeus finds himself constantly called upon to solve a variety of electric-related emergencies (like giving a jolt to a golf cart), before Hera helps him rediscover his mojo with the all-electric BMW iX crossover SUV.

1)    Chevrolet: Woke up this morning…

I about fell out of my chair when I first saw this one, which recreates the opening to The Sopranos shot-for-shot (and note-for-note), until the camera pans back and it’s not James Gandolfini (RIP) in the seat, but Jamie-Lynn Sigler playing her character Meadow. Meadow’s driving the Chevrolet Silverado EV, which is beefy enough that even Tony (who may or may not have died in the series finale) might’ve approved, and as the vehicle arrives at its destination, Sigler even meets her on-screen brother, Robert Iler (as Anthony). For Sopranos fans, this was no less than a nostalgic Gold Medal.