The automaker ad spends for the Super Bowl keep on coming. BMW has revealed their spot ahead of Sunday’s game and, like GM, they are emphasizing EVs. The commercial is for the iX electric crossover, but it also brings in some star power, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek as Zeus and Hera from Greek mythology.
Unlike GM’s EV-centric ad, this one does a better job of tying in the actual vehicle with the notion of electric propulsion. Whereas the GM spot focused more on recycling jokes from Dr. Evil and his gang, the BMW spot at least features a protagonist who is known for shooting lightning from his hand.
Ol’ Zeus, the god of thunder, is hanging up the toga and retiring to Palm Springs with his wife Hera. But instead of peace and quiet, he has annoying neighbors constantly asking him to recharge their electric hedge trimmers and golf carts with a jolt from his fingertips.
He’s really losing his chill, it seems, until Hera surprises him with a brand new 2023 BMW iX M60. The 610 horsepower crossover helps him get his mojo back, and soon the pair are cruising down the street rocking out to Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” Like the Toyota Tundra teasers, it makes clever use of music, even if having Schwarzenegger and Hayek actually sing the words “electric avenue” is a bit on the nose.
While entertaining, the ad does raise a peculiar issue, and it’s not that Hera is Zeus’ sister. It’s the issue of having to recharge your electric devices, and how inconvenient it is when the juice runs out. It’s kind of the whole plot. There’s even a stalled EV — a golf cart — right there on the 18th hole. Sure, it’s no biggie if you’re a Greek god that can shoot electrons from his fingertips, but for the rest of us muggles, it’s considerable downtime.
We’re not saying charging EVs is a problem. All it requires is a shift in thinking where you leave the house with a full tank every morning instead of charging when it’s empty. But considering many viewers may still be unfamiliar with EVs, it seems like a strange thing to bring up in your electric car ad.
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