What is the largest sports event in the United States? Some may think of different sports such as basketball or baseball, but the most notable event among them is the National Football League’s championship game, also known as ‘Super Bowl’.
With an average viewership rate reaching 40% in the United States, Super Bowl is the mega sports event watched by over 100 million people globally each year. Therefore, this championship game is also renowned as an enormous advertising showcase, especially since halftime TV commercials are considered an opportunity to promote brands and products to over 100 million viewers worldwide. However, dull advertisements that viewers are already familiar with may fail to capture their attention, leading to a greater chance of changing channels. Therefore, numerous companies are now producing catchy ‘Super Bowl-exclusive ads,’ and this trend has transformed Super Bowl commercials into a battleground for creative ideas. Well-crafted halftime commercials often go viral and remain popular for a long time.
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have also grabbed attention with their Super Bowl ads over the years, showcasing the Hyundai SONATA (Smaht Pahk) and the Kia Seltos (Tough Never Quits) from 2020. At Super Bowl 2024, both Hyundai and Kia seized the opportunity to unveil their new commercials, showcasing yet another round of creative ideas.
For this year’s Super Bowl, Hyundai Motor Company released an advertisement titled ‘Conquer the Weekend.’ This ad humorously depicts a family in a SANTA FE spending the weekend with Viking-like enthusiasm, while effectively showcasing the all-new SANTA FE navigating rough trails with ease.
The ad begins with a Viking family exploring various places and enjoying their vacation with their SANTA FE. This delightfully adventurous vacation even turns their dog into a wolf, prompting a powerful howl. The highlight of this commercial is when, amidst their vacation, the Viking family swiftly transforms their appearance to that of a modern family upon receiving a call from work. The scene where the father explains to his boss that he is currently working, despite being on a weekend getaway, strikes a chord with anyone who is part of the workforce.
It seems that Hyundai’s 2024 Super Bowl ad garnered positive feedback on YouTube as well, possibly because it resonated with working individuals who desire a carefree weekend. Various comments flooded in, including ‘Favorite Super Bowl ad of the year,’ ‘Most amazing car ad ever made,’ ‘Hyundai knows exactly what they’re doing,’ and more.
Additionally, Hyundai collaborated with a total of 22 brands such as Adobe, Mind Mobile, Igloo, and others during the Super Bowl ad airing period, posting over 100 Instagram contents highlighting the key features of SANTA FE. In summary, they have completely occupied the Instagram feed during the Super Bowl season.
The SANTA FE campaign achieved over 30 million reel-views on Instagram in just two days, with total post impressions exceeding 31.4 million. It is truly a performance that suits the title ‘Conquer the Weekend.’ Furthermore, Hyundai plans to share content across their social media channels such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and others, showcasing various features of SANTA FE, including its 4WD system, dual wireless charging, panoramic display, third-row seating, wide tailgate, towing capacity, and more.
Angela Zepeda, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Hyundai Motor America, made the following statement regarding this year’s SANTA FE advertisement and campaign. “Our aim was to adopt a unique approach that reaches out to all kinds of customers during the Super Bowl. We appreciate all the brands we partnered with.”
Kia presented a commercial titled ‘Perfect 10,’ which portrays how the V2L feature of the EV9 brings comfort to a grandfather who couldn’t make it to his granddaughter’s figure skating competition. This heartwarming ad received considerable attention for effectively illustrating the positive influence of the V2L feature on our lives.
The scene begins at the figure skating stage. After delivering a flawless performance, the young athlete gazes her father in the audience. Soon, a disappointed expression clouds her eyes as she notices the empty seat beside her father. It is meant to be her grandfather’s seat, who could not attend the girl’s performance due to his health. Her mood doesn’t improve even inside the EV9 on the way home.
Upon reading his daughter’s expression, the father quickly changes the destination. A smile starts to spread across the girl’s face as the EV9 briskly makes its way towards her grandfather’s house. At the ice pond in front of her grandfather’s house, the father utilizes the EV9’s V2L feature to power the light balls and speakers, while using the headlights to illuminate the surroundings. The girl presents an encore performance exclusively for her grandfather on the other side of the window. While watching his granddaughter’s performance, the grandfather delicately traces a perfect score of ‘10’ with his finger on the windowpane.
Kia introduced the advertisement as “a heartwarming story about the power that exists within all of us, the power to make someone smile.” The outstanding BGM (Coldplay & Cat Power - Wish I was here), perfectly aligned with the video’s theme, undoubtedly added greater emotional resonance to the narrative. The video uploaded on YouTube also garnered emotional comments such as “heartwarming ad,” “it brought tears to my eyes,” and “I lost my grandpa a few weeks ago. I teared up watching this. I miss him so much.”
The American economic magazine Forbes also left the following comments regarding Kia’s 2024 Super Bowl advertisement. “Kia ran one of the most affecting TV advertisements during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Contrasting with a cacophony of celebrity-laden and often confusing commercials fielded by dot-coms and drug companies, Kia’s spot was a coherent story about how its new all-electric EV9 generated current to provide for a touching moment between a granddaughter and her grandfather.”
Russel Wager, vise president of marketing for Kia America, described the ‘perfect 10’ commercial as “a heartwarming story about the power that exists within all of us, while also introducing the Kia EV9 to over 100 million viewers.” Furthermore, he provided the following background. “You can drive in snow, and you could tow if necessary. It’s a real three-row where you can put adults in the back with no problem. That was the first portion of the message, to show the EV9 can do everything. Then, by the way, it’s electric and also has onboard power generation. EV9 can do more things than the average SUV can do.”
In the Super Bowl ad war, where countless ideas collide like the fierce game of football itself, Hyundai and Kia’s advertisements captured the hearts of viewers worldwide. Many people responded positively to the modest storytelling, free from flashy embellishments and ostentation commonly associated with the term ‘advertisement.’ This is likely because Hyundai and Kia understand the sentiments of their customers.
All mobility solutions within the Hyundai Motor Group, including automobiles, are aimed at making customers’ time valuable. Hyundai SANTA FE and Kia EV9 also contain traces of such concern. These cars are designed for individuals who dream of weekend getaways and adventures despite their busy workdays, as well as for those who long for joyful moments with their family. Advertising is merely a tool for expression. Which captivating narrative awaits us next? We anticipate their next advertisement as much as we do Hyundai’s next car.
HMG Journal Operation Team
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