Sneak preview: US Super Bowl car adverts

Serena Williams heads a star-studded cast of extraordinary people who defy the labels other people hang on them " just as the Mini has done over the years.

Serena Williams heads a star-studded cast of extraordinary people who defy the labels other people hang on them " just as the Mini has done over the years.

Published Feb 4, 2016

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Santa Clara, California - The annual US National Football League Super Bowl championship game is the most watched American television broadcast (114.4 million viewers in 2015) and the second most watched in the world after the UEFA Champions' League soccer final.

Commercial airtime during the live broadcast, unsurprisingly, is the most expensive in the world and major corporations vie to air their most extravagant advertisements during the game - not least of them the big car companies, whose productions are feverishly anticipated before the broadcast and discussed for weeks afterwards.

The 2015 Super Bowl final (which, incidentally, is the 50th in the series) will be played at the Levi's Stadium on Sunday 7 February - but you don't have to wait that long.

We bring you six of the car adverts that will be flighted during the game, in alphabetical order so that we don't get accused of favouritism.

AUDI

Building on Audi's involvement in the Lunar Rover program, "The Commander" features a retired astronaught who feels that nothing can match the thrill of space flight - until his son hands him the keys to a 2017 Audi R8 V10.

The tag line "Amazing things happen when we shoot for the moon", once again references the Lunar Quattro project.

HYUNDAI

Hyundai has gone all out with no less than three new commercials to be flighted during Super Bowl 50, starting with "The Chase", in which two hikers are chased by bears, and are able to get away because the driver starts his Elantra from his smartwatch using Hyundai's Blue Link Remote Start app.

In "Ryanville" two women notice drive around a small town where every local inhabitant is Ryan Reynolds - and get so distracted that only the Elantra's automatic emergency braking system saves them from a crash. Possibly a little sexist, but during a football game, who's going to notice?

"First Date" stars Kevin Hart as an over-protective father who uses a smart watch and the Blue Link Car Finder feature on the 2016 Hyundai Genesis to keep an eye on his daughter and her new boyfriend. Some daughters may object, most dads will understand.

KIA

"Walken Closet" features the Kia Optima and Oscar winner Christopher Walken as the genie in the box - or in this case the cupboard - offering the owner a choice of plain or brightly patterned socks with the tagline, voiced with the kind of underlying menace Walken does so well: "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who are content to blend in... then there are those who expect more."

The inference is that the Optima is the "vibrant alternative" to boring midsized sedans.

MINI

Yes, the tough-looking lady staring into the camera while sitting on the bonnet of a Mini Clubman is Serena Williams, heading a star-studded cast of extraordinary people who defy the labels other people hang on them - just as the Mini has done over the years. Finally Harvey Keitel gets to do the tagline, "This car doesn't care what you call it".

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