Social themes, Alfa Romeo's comeback on the Super Bowl ad highlight reel

Automakers are using the Super Bowl to deliver messages that are a step above the typical product pitches.

While vehicles make cameos in most instances, there was a clear effort among brands to connect with consumers through themes that sound more inspirational than corporate.

Audi is tackling gender pay equality, while Honda is using a crew of celebrities to ask viewers to follow their dreams --a play on its “Power of Dreams” mantra -- in its CR-V spot.

Hyundai honored the sacrifices of the military, and Kia -- in its own wacky way -- is encouraging environmental friendliness in a spot pushing the Niro hybrid crossover.

But when Super Bowl ad slots cost an estimated $5 million for 30 seconds, was it a wise move to drop the product pitch in favor of a more socially conscious narrative in which the vehicles are at risk of becoming afterthoughts to viewers?

It would be ideal if a brand can hit the social narrative and showcase a product at the same time, says Devra Prywes, senior vice president of insights and marketing for ad tech company Unruly. She said there’s a push for companies these days to show their social awareness.

“Aligning with a message shows they have a point of view, it shows they’re aware of the world around them,” Prywes told Automotive News. “We’re seeing a massive push for brands in general to take on a cause, to do their part in humanity.”

In contrast, one ad expert wants to know if the goal is still to sell cars.

“[Some will say] the idea of having your brand associated with the Super Bowl is something you can get some cachet for,” Mike Bernacchi, a marketing professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, told Automotive News. “If one of the goals is to sell vehicles, then you have to take a look and say ‘is that a good spend of the money?’ It’s silly to say that’s not the goal.”

Whether the messages resonate or not remains to be seen, but automakers took a variety of routes to get their points across.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ attempt to resurrect Alfa Romeo in the U.S. continued on advertising’s biggest stage with a series of Giulia spots that delved into the brand’s heritage and showed off the sedan’s styling and agility.

The brand didn’t confront any social issues in its second quarter 60-second ad like other brands. It came to push product by highlighting the performance chops of the Giulia sedan.

But the Giulia’s story wasn’t finished after one ad.

The automaker debuted another spot in the third quarter that stayed on the performance theme. The Giulia zipped down a winding road as a track from an American band called the Chromatics set the mood.

The narrator declared in the 30-second spot, “if you love something, set it free.”

And if it wasn’t clear that FCA is serious about making a footprint, it dropped another Giulia ad in the fourth quarter.

The third spot -- also 30 seconds -- followed the formula of the second ad, focusing exclusively on the vehicle. Unlike previous years where FCA played on emotions with stories of perseverance, the automaker stuck to the tried-and-true strategy of revving engines and displays of road dexterity.

FCA’s Super Bowl investment in Alfa Romeo comes at a critical moment in the brand’s history.

Sales of the 4C Coupe and 4C Spider have sputtered along, and the brand is getting ready to launch the Stelvio crossover this year. Meanwhile, the Giulia began arriving at dealerships in December.

Alfa Romeo returned to the U.S. in late 2014 after a nearly two-decade absence and is betting on the Stelvio to help draw a new generation of buyers as well as fans of rival German brands.

Audi’s focus on pay equality is buttressed by a politically charged climate that makes the ad even more relevant. Just last month, the issue came to the forefront during the Women's March on Washington.

In Audi’s spot, a father grapples with the idea of telling his daughter that she would automatically be less valued than every man she ever meets despite her education and drive. But as the ad closes, he comes to the conclusion that maybe he’ll be able to tell her something different.

Audi debuted the S5 Sportback in the closing seconds of the spot.

Loren Angelo, vice president of marketing for Audi of America, said the ad is a “reflection of the cultural conversation.”

“Creative ideation for this campaign started many months ago. And while it certainly is timely, the issue of pay equality has been a significant part of the public dialogue for some time now,” Angelo said in an emailed statement to Automotive News. “We felt it [was] important to continue to promote dialogue around this important subject… As we’ve done in the past, Audi will continue to tell stories that are relevant in today’s cultural landscape.”

Buick is sticking with the formula it used during its first Super Bowl appearance last year by casting a football player and supermodel.

This year, the brand went with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and supermodel Miranda Kerr in a playful spot that highlighted the Cascada and Encore. In 2016, it turned to New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and model Emily Ratajkowski in a Cascada commercial.

Newton brought his heroics to the youth football scene in the latest ad. The spot follows the same blueprint of Buick’s ads in recent years, which are known for quirky theme music and people doubting whether they’re actually seeing a Buick.

Some of the kids in the ad were real pee wee players whom Buick invited. Newton and Kerr’s names rose to the top when the brand was deciding who to cast.

“They’re masters of their crafts. They’re extremely friendly and approachable,” Molly Peck, Buick’s director of marketing and advertising, told Automotive News. “He has a true affinity to supporting kids’ causes. Miranda is a mother herself. They really reflect the values of the Buick brand.”

Ford is ready to take its mobility message to the masses.

The automaker has been exploring where it’ll fit in the world as the transportation needs of people change. Ford is diving into a variety of areas, including ride-sharing, autonomous vehicles and bikes. It has also conducted mobility-related experiments around the globe.

The 90-second spot, which touches on all of those areas, will air just before kickoff. This is the first time that Ford will push its mobility philosophy in a TV ad, the company said.

The ad’s theme is about the various ways Ford can help people move about the world freely. The commercial features several vehicles, including the GT and F-150, but it shies away from the traditional product push.

“Are they able to rebrand themselves from selling automobiles to doing mobility? That’s a tough rebranding act,” Detroit Mercy’s Bernacchi said.

Honda is taking a trip down memory lane in a star-filled spot for the redesigned CR-V.

The ad features a collection of famous faces such as Steve Carell, Magic Johnson, Tina Fey and Viola Davis, who speak from the pages of a scrolling yearbook. The yearbook photos, which are authentic, come to life in the spot as the celebrities remind viewers to follow their dreams.

The ad culminates with an appearance by the CR-V. The compact crossover, now 20 years old, was introduced to the public during Super Bowl 31.

The stars were chosen because they understood what it meant to have a dream and achieve it, said Susie Rossick, Honda’s assistant vice president of marketing.

She feels the branding is strong enough that people will remember it’s a Honda ad.

“It’s a message that culminates with the vehicle. It’s all about chasing your dreams. This was a dream of our designers and developers to make the best-selling SUV in the United States even better, [and] we did that with the new CR-V,” Rossick told Automotive News. “[We] took what was good about the CR-V and kept it, and only made it better, which is always a dream of our designers and engineers.”

While some companies battled for Super Bowl kickoff and first-quarter ad slots, Hyundai decided to anchor the game with a blast of raw emotion that put a new spin on the familiar tale of reuniting soldiers with their families.

Most are used to the traditional scene of soldiers walking in on unsuspecting family members when they return home. But Hyundai flipped the script by surprising the soldiers with a technological tour de force that brought the families “together” at the Super Bowl despite being a world away.

Adding to the spot’s complexity, the agency had to shoot a portion of it, edit and then get it approved during the game to blend the reactions into the 90-second documentary-style ad. It aired during the first commercial break after the game.

For “Operation Better,” Hyundai and its agency Innocean deployed a technology that the team can’t compare to anything else. Going beyond virtual reality, the Hyundai crew visually transported three soldiers to Houston’s NRG Stadium using 360-degree pods that placed them in a suite with their family members attending the game.

The soldiers — who are on a military base in Zagan, Poland — were surrounded by a screen that allowed them to look around the NRG suite and see the field as if they were in the stadium. The families could see the soldiers through a monitor being held by a teddy bear sitting in the suite with them.

 “Most advertisers are fighting over kickoff, are fighting over the first quarter. We just decided to go left when everybody was going right,” Eric Springer, chief creative officer of Innocean, told Automotive News. “How about ending the game with a giant exclamation point?”

Actress Melissa McCarthy goes on a wild adventure with the 2017 Niro in “Hero’s Journey.”

McCarthy, while driving the Niro, gets called on to help whales, trees and rhinos in a slew of outrageous moments. Kia has been teasing the 60-second spot with a slate of teasers that touched on the ad’s theme.

Unruly’s Prywes believes the teasers were more effective at selling the vehicle than the actual ad.

In the teasers, “they’re showing the car and information, whether it’s Melissa McCarthy and the penguin sitting inside the car, and you learn that they not only have seat warmers but seat coolers, which I didn’t even know existed. I learned something,” Prywes said. “The teasers, I thought, were spot on.”

Lexus’ 30-second spot didn’t pull any punches. The cars are clearly the stars here.

The brand showcased the boldly designed LC 500 and LS 500, while mixing in a flexible display by movement artist Lil Buck.

Lexus attempted to connect the dancer to the vehicles. Lexus said the spot “recognizes the parallels between the shapes and movements of the human form and the power and athleticism of Lexus' most premium models.”

Lexus released a longer 60-second cut on Jan. 23 that has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube.

Bernacchi said of the ad, “It’s a good creative use of trying to connect to the product.”

Mercedes-Benz resurrected an old biker classic, Easy Rider, in its GT spot, which was directed by Academy Award-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.

The scene is a biker bar full of stereotypical tough guys. One biker suddenly bursts into the bar to tell everyone they are blocked in.

The crowd then heads outside to find the Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster parked behind their motorcycles before it’s driven off shortly after by actor Peter Fonda, star of the 1969 movie.

While the car is only in the ad for few seconds, Prywes said its placement was effective.

“Their whole spot was kind of a homage to Easy Rider. Will that potentially overshadow the brand? Or because the car is part of the punch line at the end, will that help hammer it home?” Prywes asked. “The car was a character in the [ad], which could help with that late branding presence.”