Ford and General Motors used to be mainstays of Super Bowl ads, but no more
Amidst fierce competition in EVs, automakers have hit the brakes on Big Game ads, with Stellantis the only one in this year’s lineup.
While the on-field analysis of Super Bowl LIX has broadly wrapped up after the blowout Eagles victory on Sunday, the advertising industry has been busy dissecting the winners and losers of the Super Bowl ads, some of which cost more than $8 million for a 30-second slot.
Yet among the ~60 advertisers vying for the attention of the 128 million average viewers, a once dominant player was largely absent: car brands. This year, only one showed up: Jeep, with a two-minute cinematic ad starring Harrison Ford behind the wheel of a Wrangler.
The four carmakers that ran commercials last year (Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, and Kia) pulled back altogether.
This retreat isn’t new — automakers’ share of Super Bowl ad screen time has been shrinking for years, according to TV ad measurement firm iSpot.tv. After roaring back postrecession, carmakers like Ford poured record sums into Super Bowl ads in 2011 and 2012, producing some of the most iconic commercials in history and commanding ~40% of all Super Bowl ad time. Last year, that share had dwindled to 8%, and this year it dropped even further, to just 7%.
Why are car companies sitting out?
While Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis, had little choice but to advertise, amid a leadership shake-up and lagging US sales, most automakers no longer see the steep price tag as worth it, especially with growing challenges across the industry. For one, the EV boom is slowing, with President Trump pushing to remove tax credits — a move that could further dampen already sluggish demand and force automakers to rethink aggressive EV marketing. Indeed, the share of Super Bowl car ads featuring EVs (measured by run time) dropped last year for the first time since 2016, per iSpot.tv.
Shifting Gears
As these pressures mount and tariffs loom on auto imports from China, Canada, and Mexico — the largest auto parts exporter to the US — automakers may continue to steer away from costly TV ads, where the Super Bowl remains one of the last strongholds. According to eMarketer, TV ad spending for the auto industry dropped 8.6% year over year in 2024, and is projected to keep falling through 2026.
Instead, car brands are turning to digital ads, a cheaper and more effective alternative in today’s streaming- and social-media-dominated era. In 2021, the auto industry spent more on digital ads than traditional media for the first time — a gap that’s expected to widen to 60% digital by 2027, according to market research firm BIA.
Note: A previous version of this article used a forecast for the 2025 figure. This has now been updated with the actual figure.
