Hyundai, Kia bet on Super Bowl ads

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Finance

Mon, December 4, 2023 | 19:22

Hyundai, Kia bet on Super Bowl ads

현대, 기아 슈퍼볼 광고에 360억 투입

Posted : 2013-01-27 17:08

Updated : 2013-01-27 17:08

Kia Motors will air a commercial for the Sorento R SUV during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 to try and strengthen its foothold in the world's biggest car market. Courtesy of Kia Motors

By Kim Tae-jong

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Motors will place a 36 billion won bet on this year's Super Bowl. They will air several commercials during the game that will be watched by millions, in a bid to strengthen their foothold in the world's second-biggest car market.

This year's NFL championship game is on Feb. 3 and advertising spots during the event are typically the most expensive each year. For the upcoming game, CBS has charged an estimated $3.7 million to $3.8 million for 30 seconds.

This year, automobiles and beverages will again account for a supersize amount of the commercials shown. Along with Hyundai and Kia, Audi, Chrysler, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen will also air ads.

The star cars for Hyundai are the new seven-passenger Santa Fe SUV and a new turbocharged version of the Sonata sedan, while Kia will promote the new Sorento R SUV in one 60-second and five 30-second commercials.

The fast-growing automakers will spend the largest amount of money on commercials for the sporting event among Korean firms, estimated at 36 billion won. They bought six Super Bowl spots last year, spending about 30 billion won.

The two firms seem to believe the commercials during the game are effective in raising brand awareness and perception.

Last year's commercial for Kia's Optima sedan, marketed as the K5 in Korea, was picked as best ad shown during the game last year in a survey by USA Today and Facebook. The sales of the sedan doubled in February, compared to the same period from the previous year.

The two models that Hyundai Motor America advertised during the 2012 Super Bowl _ the Genesis coupe R-Spec and the Veloster Turbo ― had the shortest day supply among the automaker's vehicles, thanks to demand after the commercial aired.

Thanks to aggressive marketing and improved quality, the combined market share of the two carmakers jumped to 8.7 percent last year from 4.8 percent in 2007.

The Super Bowl is also a chance for the firms to get the year off to a good start and improve their image, especially after they were hit for overstating the fuel economy of some of their popular vehicles in the U.S. last year.

This will be the sixth consecutive Super Bowl that Hyundai will advertise in. The automaker said the humorous slots, created by Innocean USA, will promote the new seven-passenger Hyundai Santa Fe, in the first quarter and the Hyundai Sonata Turbo, in the second. Three more ads will be shown.

The stories in the ads are about road trips, rather than close-ups of the products, focusing on themes such as fun, passion, excitement and energy, the automaker said.

To take advantage of the increasing willingness of consumers to watch Super Bowl ads before the game through social media like Facebook and share them with friends, the Hyundai commercials will be released in advance.

Kia first ran Super Bowl commercials in 2010.

The automaker has already released a teaser for a 60-second ad titled "Space Babies," online and in movie theaters.

Along with the commercials for Hyundai and Kia, Korean pop sensation Psy will appear in an ad for Wonderful Pistachios, after his song "Gangnam Style" became a massive hit on YouTube and across the globe.

현대, 기아 슈퍼볼 광고에 360억 투입

현대.기아차는 미국 최대 스포츠 이벤트인 슈퍼볼에 7편의 텔레비전 광고를 내보내기로 했다. 미국 시장 공략에 박차를 가하려는 시도이다.

현대·기아차는 2월 3일(현지시간) 열릴 슈퍼볼 중계방송에 싼타페와 뉴쏘렌토R을 주력으로 하는 광고 7편을 선보인다.

슈퍼볼은 미국에서 가장 관심이 높은 이벤트로, 1억명 이상이 매년 중계 방송을 시청한다.

슈퍼볼을 중계 방송하는 미국 CBS는 30초짜리 광고를 평균 370만~380만달러에 판매했다. 이를 바탕으로 추산하면 올해 현대·기아차는 60초짜리 2편, 30초짜리 5편을 선보이는 만큼 총 360억원 정도를 투입한 것으로 추정된다. 300억원 정도였던 지난해보다 20%가량 많은 셈이다.

현대·기아차가 막대한 비용을 투입하는 것은 그만큼의 효과가 있는 것으로 평가하기 때문이다.

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr