A few of Orange County’s best-known brands—including Hyundai, Kia and Taco Bell—are forking out the big bucks to advertise during this year’s Super Bowl XLVII, which will be broadcast Feb. 3 on CBS.
Hyundai Motor America Inc. plans to run five Super Bowl spots. Two 30-second spots are slated to air during the pregame show, with a 60-second spot scheduled during the prekick position, the last spot before the game begins. Two more 30-second spots will air during the game.
This is the sixth-consecutive year of Super Bowl advertising for the automaker, which is operating out of Costa Mesa while a new headquarters is being constructed in Fountain Valley.
Hyundai says it plans to position the brand as consumers’ “partner-in-fun,” using humor to highlight vehicle performance and functionality.
The 2013 Santa Fe is featured in the pregame ad, which is titled Don’t Tell. The ad was first aired in September and follows a dad who tells his kids not to tell mom about the adventures they have in their Santa Fe.
The second pregame ad is all new and features the Genesis Sedan R-Spec on a track with the play-by-play given by a passionate sportscaster.
The all-new prekick ad features the Santa Fe and a family on an epic outing, with a surprise cameo appearance by a band whose name had not been disclosed prior to the big game.
The all-new first-quarter ad features a boy who recruits his own dream team to compete against neighborhood bullies—with the help of the Santa Fe.
The all-new second-quarter ad features a comedic road trip through the eyes of a young couple in a Sonata Turbo that gets stuck behind random road obstacles.
The ads were created by Hyundai’s ad agency, Innocean Worldwide, which has its North American headquarters in Huntington Beach.
Kia Joins In
Hyundai’s sister automaker, Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc., plans to do a 60-second spot during the fourth quarter of the game, just as it did during last year’s Super Bowl.
Kia launched a three-part campaign, titled It Has an Answer for Everything, with the first ad debuting earlier this month. The ad introduced the redesigned 2014 Sorento crossover vehicle.
The campaign’s second ad will debut during the Super Bowl.
“When the next spot airs in the Super Bowl it will present an answer to an age-old question that has left generations of parents stuttering and searching carefully for words to help them escape an awkward-yet-truthful situation,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Kia.
The ad is by Kia’s ad agency of record, El Segundo-based David & Goliath. Other elements of the campaign beyond broadcast include digital and social media.
Hyundai and Kia are divisions of Seoul-based Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. About $300 million was spent on advertising for Hyundai in 2011, while about $380 million was spent on Kia, according to New York-based Kantar Media.
Hyundai has about 975 OC employees, and Kia has about 250 here.
Deutsch Does Taco Bell
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., announced it will also advertise during the Super Bowl.
A 60-second spot will feature the fast-food chain’s Live Más tagline, which promotes the Cantina Bell menu line and Doritos Locos Tacos. It will also feature an 87-year-old main character along with his senior friends living it up while eating Taco Bell food items.
The commercial will be set to Grammy Award-nominated artists fun.’s We Are Young, which will be sung in Spanish.
Taco Bell released a teaser video on the brand’s YouTube channel earlier this month, titled Grandpa Goes Wild. It shows the elderly main character sneaking into a football stadium to let loose on his scooter while doing tricks, knocking things over, and escaping from security.
Taco Bell last advertised during the Super Bowl in 2010 to promote its $5 Big Box.
The spot was created by Los Angeles-based Deutsch Inc., part of New York-based Interpublic Group of Cos. This is the first spot the agency will create for Taco Bell after pitching the idea to the chain.
Deutsch is a sister company to Chicago-based Draftfcb, the lead agency for Taco Bell since 2000. The Irvine office handles creative work for Taco Bell’s broadcast, merchandising and multicultural advertising, along with other duties.
In 2011, parent company Yum! spent about $250 million in advertising on Taco Bell, according to Kantar Media.
The chain does about $7 billion in annual sales. It has about 5,600 locations in the U.S. with 81 locations in Orange County. The Business Journal estimates Taco Bell has about 2,300 OC employees.
CBS announced it had sold all Super Bowl spots in early January. The individual companies wouldn’t disclose how much they paid, but the average selling price of the ads was $3.5 million to $4 million for 30-second spots, according to Advertising Age.
Social Strategies
Among recent promotions involving social media:
n Lake Forest-based apparel retailer Wet Seal Inc. offered five customers a chance to win $100 gift cards by creating an account on social media startup Wanelo (want, need, love), posting Wet Seal products they like, and emailing the link to Wet Seal.
