Yesterday’s game was all about the triumph of the underdog – on the field and during commercial breaks. If you tracked the Super Bowl ads from automobile companies, you probably noticed something interesting: most of the heavy hitters stayed home.

ABC reports, “For advertisers, the Super Bowl is still the biggest game of the year. But in today’s marketplace, the buzz is not surrounding the ads during the game, it’s the advertisers opting to sit on the bench instead that have programmers shivering on the sidelines.”  Suzanne Vranica, advertising columnist for the Wall Street Journal, told ABC “The economy is wreaking havoc with a couple companies. And you have got a couple companies, huge companies like FedEx and GM, who are long-time Super Bowl fanatics, that have pulled out because of the economy.”

While GM has used Super Bowl ads to introduce what they hope will be groundbreaking new models like the Chevy Volt, they stayed home this year – as did most major automobile companies.  Instead, the ads were dominated by upstarts in the new automobile market.

Hyundai ran the most ads and sponsored the pregame show in an effort to hype the all-new Hyundai Sonata. But it was an ad focusing on the company’s warranty that got the most attention. “Yes, Hyundai, Brett Favre’s old, we know,” states Jalopnik commenting on the Hyundai ad that featured Brett Favre.

Autoblog says, “What do blueberries, fishin’ rodeos, the moon, and 400-pound linemen that run 4.3-second 40s have in common? They’re among the wide range of things Brett Favre discusses in this locker room interview shot for an upcoming Hyundai Super Bowl commercial. Used to hype Hyundai’s 10-year warranties, it’s a funny look at what the NFL might be like in the future.”   You can see the Hyundai Super Bowl Ad, including outtakes, on YouTube.

Audi also got in on the action with their “Green Police” ad for their diesel A3, which recently won Green Car of the Year. Jalopnik comments, “All the hubbub around Audi’s Green Police Super Bowl ad surrounded the Nazi-esque name when, in reality, the “Green Police” are merely fascist for the environment. We wonder how many people will miss the joke.” You can view the Audi Green Police Super Bowl Ad on YouTube.

Finally, one American automobile maker did get a national ad in: Dodge’s “Man’s Last Stand” spot put the Dodge Charger forward as the one thing men could cling to in a world of toilet-seat-wiping and purse-holding. Jalopnik says, “The concept was sort of fresh but the Dodge Charger, sadly, is as stale as the ad’s perspective on male-female relationships.” You can see the Dodge Charger Super Bowl Ad on YouTube.

One ad that was missing?  Anything from Toyota.  Some commentators thought that a Super Bowl ad would have been a natural step in the rehabilitation of Toyota’s image after the huge recalls that have plagued the company.  Autoblog reports that Toyota has a new ad. “The message is easy and delivered well: Toyota messed up huge time, it knows it, and it’s fully aware that the onus is on itself to win back customers’ confidence.”  Autoblog comments, “If Toyota’s smart, it’ll air during the Super Bowl later this evening,” but the ad was not part of any broadcast we saw. You can view the Toyota ad on You Tube.

If you are in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals. 

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Submited at Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 2:00 pm on Uncategorized by Ryan
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