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Super Bowl ad spotlights Norway's EV lead, GM's aspirations Metal Tech News – February 10, 2021
Not happy to discover Norway far outpaces the U.S. in electric vehicle adoption, GM's Super Bowl ad star Will Ferrell sets out to give the Scandinavian country a piece of his mind.
Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina join Will Ferrell on his action-packed quest to give Norwegians a piece of his mind.
When it comes to the "Super Bowl" of electric vehicles, Norway is the undisputed world champion, a fact that does not sit well with Will Ferrell or General Motors. Behind the wheel of an all-electric Cadillac Lyriq, Farrell takes the EV fight to the "fish loving" Norwegians during a 60-second GM ad that aired during the first quarter of Super Bowl LV.
"With GM's new Ultium battery, we are going to crush those lugers," Farrell vows on his way to enlist the help of Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina.
In the run up to the airing of the ad on Super Bowl Sunday, GM said it does not blame the actor and EV enthusiast being so fired up about Norway's substantial lead in the global EV race.
Fully electric vehicles made up 54.3% of all new car sales in Norway during 2020, surpassing the midway point of the Scandinavian country's goal to end the sale of gas and diesel automobiles by 2025.
Toward this national objective, the Norwegian government has exempted fully electric vehicles from the sales and highway taxes that must be paid on petroleum burning cars and trucks sold in the northern European country. EV drivers are also only required to pay half price for public parking, highway tolls and ferries in the country.
These incentives, coupled with a well-organized charging network that allows more than 330,000 EVs to top off their batteries at any given time, has helped to crown Norway as global EV champion.
In the U.S., on the other hand, fully electric vehicles only accounted for about 3% of total car sales during 2020. GM and Farrell, however, are doing their parts to get every American in an EV.
In January, GM completed rebranding around a comprehensive effort to accelerate mass adoption of EVs. This "Everybody In" campaign has three primary objectives:
• Excite a new generation of buyers and accelerating EV adoption.
• Highlight the range, performance, and flexibility of the automaker's Ultium EV modular platform and battery system.
• Demonstrate GM's electric mobility leadership, which includes the investment of $27 billion in EV and autonomous vehicle products and the launches of 30 new EVs globally by the end of 2025.
The "No way, Norway" ad that debuted on Super Bowl Sunday touches on these themes.
"GM's Ultium batteries is made for all types of vehicles, so soon everyone can drive an EV," Farrell declared as he pulls his Lyriq into a shipping container bound for Scandinavia.
"The big game is the perfect venue for the incomparable Will Ferrell to encourage us all to reconsider what we know about electric vehicles, and to invite 'Everybody In'," said General Motors Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl. "We admire his passion for EVs and share Norway's pursuit of an all-electric future."
Metaphoric of how far the U.S. has to go when it comes to catching Norway in terms of EV adoption, Ferrell and his electric Cadillac wind up in Sweden, while Thompson and Awkwafina drive their Ultium-powered GMC Hummer to Finland.
In playful admiration of Norway's lead in EV adoption and the measures the Scandinavian country has taken to achieve its electric mobility goals, GM's ad ends with a simple declaration, "We're coming for you Norway."
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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