Hyundai wins best Super Bowl commercial

Hyundai Motor’s Super Bowl commercial, “First Date,” featuring its Genesis luxury sedan, won the best TV commercial shown during the event. Hyundai was the first global automaker voted as winner of USA Today’s annual poll of favorite Super Bowl commercials. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

By Park Jin-hai

Hyundai Motor’s Super Bowl commercial, “First Date,” has driven away with the award for best TV commercial shown during the American football championship. The ad features the Hyundai Genesis and the win is a big boost for the carmaker, which is trying to expand into the North American luxury car market.

Hyundai is the first global automaker voted as winner of USA Today's annual poll of favorite Super Bowl commercials.

The 60-second spot aired just before kickoff of “Super Bowl 50” on the CBS television network Monday.

In the commercial, comedian Kevin Hart lends his Hyundai Genesis, equipped with the Blue Link Car Finder feature, to his daughter's date and the couple's every move is tracked all night.

In a survey of 19,000 people, Hyundai’s new ad scored an average 6.91 points out of 10.

“On the biggest advertising day of the year, we wanted to entertain Super Bowl fans with creative storytelling and relevant, popular celebrities, while showcasing the innovative technology features of our vehicles,” said Dean Evans, chief marketing officer of Hyundai Motor America.

“Kevin Hart’s comedic chops, coupled with a human truth people could connect with, is a standout combination that put us over the top. It’s an incredible conclusion to our first year as an official NFL sponsor that we won the Ad Meter for Super Bowl 50.”

Until last year, the coveted first place has been occupied by American brands including McDonald’s, Pepsi and Nike. The survey started in 1989.

The outcome is a big boost for Hyundai and Kia Motors, whose combined U.S. market share has been falling since it peaked at 8.9 percent in 2011. Their market share last year was below 8 percent on a comparatively strong won and heated competition.

To meet these challenges, the carmakers have striven to enhance brand recognition and launch competitive models in major segments. These include the G90, Hyundai’s first full-size sedan under the Genesis luxury brand. It will be launched in the U.S. in the first half of this year.

“With our commercials, we think we have successfully imprinted the G90 (locally known as the EQ900) in the hearts of U.S. customers, following the North American International Auto Show debut last month,” a Hyundai Motor official said.

The company’s other two Hyundai Super Bowl commercials ― about the new Elantra (locally sold as the Avante) ― were fifth and sixth in the award.

In January, Hyundai and Kia sold 45,011 and 38,305 cars respectively, the highest January sales yet. Although the winter blizzard on the U.S. east coast hampered sales last month, Hyundai and Kia’s combined U.S. market share was 7.3 percent last month, up from 7.2 percent the previous January.