Lucas Bell 
Last week, General Motors announced that they will be running two 60-seconds ads during Super Bowl LV this Sunday. They were kind enough to let us know that one of these ads will focus on the Cadillac brand, while the other will be GM’s first brand commercial during the Big Game in nearly two decades. Both ads are also slated to highlight GM’s upcoming crop of electric vehicles as part of the “Everybody In” campaign. The automaker wasn’t initially keen on sharing more details about that their brand-specific ad, though that appears to have changed. Thanks to three new teasers shared by the automaker, we know that the ad will have something to do with Will Ferrell, and his disdain for the country of Norway.
While it may seem odd that America’s largest automaker is picking a fight with a small European nation, this decision can be made clear with a little bit of background knowledge. According to The Guardian, Norway became the first country in the world where the sale of electric vehicles outpaced that of traditional ICE cars back in 2019. In 2020, electric vehicles accounted for over 54 percent of new car sales in Norway, up from 42.4 percent in 2019. Impressive figures compared to the rest of the world, which highlight Norway’s current mission to end the sale of ICE powered machines by 2025. As one might expect, Norway receives a lot of attention for their love of EVs.
It appears that GM doesn’t plan on letting the Norwegians take all the glory however. The automaker is in the middle of an electric vehicle renaissance, with plans to release some 30 new EVs globally by 2025. Furthermore, General Motors has just announced their plans to become a fully carbon neutral company by 2040. With that bit of information in mind, the ideation behind this new Super Bowl ad becomes a bit clearer.
With the help of comedic genius Will Ferrell, General Motors is likely going to position themselves as a driving force in the United States’ efforts in terms of EV adoption. And while the automaker certainly has made dramatic moves as of late, that sort of undertaking is challenging in a country of nearly 330 million people. Norway’s population is just a hair over five million by comparison, which is three million less people than the population of New York City. We aren’t sure that the United States can solve this disparity by “punching Norway” as Mr. Ferrell so boldly proclaims.
Whether or not American buyers are ready to accept electric vehicles has yet to be seen, but it is clear that the time is coming. GM wants to be a leader in Detroit and around the world when it comes to this industry shift, and they aren’t afraid to show it. And what better way to do that than with the help of Will Ferrell, we guess.
View this post on Instagram
