Nissan, Kia and BMW to go big for Super Bowl LVI

Nissan, BMW, and Kia pay big money for Super Bowl LVI ads

The Super Bowl is the holy grail of American sports and is ranked fourth on the list of the world’s most-watched sporting events right after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

As such, its broadcaster can charge a super-premium on advertisers who buy airtime to play their commercials to some 102 million viewers in the US and around the world. At $7 million per 30-seconds, this spot isn’t cheap by any measure and yet, NBC has sold out all its airtime across all free-to-air TV and even digital.

Three of those advertisers with an expensive message to send out are Nissan, BMW, and Kia. While some have released the full ads online, others have kept it under wraps and have only released teasers.

Let’s take a peek at what these automakers are up to.

Nissan’s full ad is up on YouTube already and is star-studded. Aside from the all-new 2023 Nissan Z and the electric crossover Ariya, it features Emmy-award winner Eugene Levy, Oscar winner and Nissan ambassador Brie Larson, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Batista, Black Panther’s Danai Gurira, and Home Alone’s (and Schitt's Creek) Catherin O’Hara. The 60-second ad shows how Levy is transformed into an action hero from the movie Thrill Driver, helping out the likes of Batista and Gurira, after Larson hands him the keys to a Nissan Z. The end shows all actors walking out of a premiere towards a waiting Ariya.

BMW only has a teaser out so far. It features Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus – complete with the armor, cape, and lightning tracking across his body – getting his coffee from a barista played by comedian Matty Cardarople. The teaser is called ‘Something Electric is Brewing’ and ends with lightning to reveal the launch date and the BMW logo.

Kia tugs on the heartstrings of motorists as its 60-second ad is about a robo dog finding its owner who happens to drive the marque’s all-electric EV6. There’s no dialogue in this movie and the whole bit is scored with Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’.

In case you can’t watch the Super Bowl, you can watch all of the ads over at YouTube.