General Motors and Netflix will air a co-branded ad during this year’s Super Bowl game, promoting the two companies’ collaboration to get more electric vehicles on screens everywhere.
The spot, called EVs on Screen, is starring Will Ferrell, who previously appeared in other EV campaigns by GM, and will air during the second quarter of the February 12 game held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
GM shared two snippets of the advertisement, which are embedded below, showing Will Ferrell interacting with a zombie from the film Army of the Dead and some characters from the hit series Squid Game. But that’s not all, because GM plans to place multiple EVs from its portfolio in a multitude of Netflix shows, with the GMC Hummer EV pickup, Chevy Sierra Denali, Chevy Blazer, Chevy Silverado, and Cadillac Lyriq making appearances in Bridgerton, Squid Game, Stranger Things, and Army of the Dead.
GM says the 15-second teasers will be followed by longer 30- and 60-second clips, and all of them will feature Will Ferrell, who started to collaborate with the American carmaker about two years ago, while GM’s partnership with Netflix began a year ago.
"It's really great to have Will Ferrell back in the game," Deborah Wahl, GM's global chief marketing officer, told Automotive News. "We launched with him two years ago when he issued a full challenge to America to beat Norway in terms of EV penetration. We're well on the way to that. And so he was the perfect person to really showcase this next move that we're all making."
According to GM’s exec, Netflix committed last year to include at least one EV in every film or series it produces, but that it doesn’t dictate specific storylines. This way, directors and producers can find more natural ways of incorporating electric cars into their stories.
"We want to give electric vehicles the stage they deserve. And really, with this partnership and our 'EVs on Screen' campaign, we're showcasing how through entertainment we can actually reflect the change that we see happening in culture," said Netflix CMO Marian Lee. "GM was bold enough to invite us to collaborate on something bigger. They had us asking ourselves, why not more EVs in the stories we tell?"
Take a look at the videos above and, as always, tell us what you think in the comments section below.
