General Motors unveiled its 2021 Super Bowl spot on Wednesday morning, featuring Will Ferrell in a pitch for electric vehicles that will surely be a crowd-pleaser come game time on Sunday.
The 90-second spot, from McCann Detroit and McCann Worldgroup, opens with Ferrell revealing the factoid that led to the creative idea—that Norway has more electric vehicles per capita than the U.S. This naturally get Will hopping mad, and he soon ropes Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina into a patriotic escapade to travel to Norway and give them a piece of their mind.
Except, of course, the trip doesn't exactly go as planned.
"No Way, Norway" extends GM's "Everybody In" campaign, which launched in January and is designed to accelerate EV adoption in the U.S. while showcasing the company's Ultium battery platform. The Cadillac LYRIQ luxury SUV and the GMC Hummer EV supertruck are both featured in the spot.
The spot ticks off many of the traditional boxes for Super Bowl advertising—in particular, celebrities doing stupid things—but Ferrell, as usual, elevates the dumb jokes into something more inspired. The misguided patriotism angle is also perfect for the hyped-up Americana of Super Bowl, and Ferrell's unmentioned but well-known connection to Sweden also ties things together nicely.
Jake Szymanski of Gifted Youth directed the spot. Szymanski and Ferrell have done cars ads together before, having created the memorable 2013 campaign where Ferrell's Ron Burgundy character was a pitchman for Dodge.
"I'm excited to be a part of GM's commitment to EVs," Ferrell said in a statement. "I've been driving an EV since the mid-80s ... well, actually it was a regular car with four AA batteries taped to the carburetor, but it felt like an EV! We're coming for you, Norway!"
"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'," added Deborah Wahl, GM's global chief marketing officer. "We admire his passion for EVs and share Norway's pursuit of an all-electric future."
CREDITS
McCann Detroit/McCann Worldgroup
Production Credits – GM "No Way Norway"
Brand | GM
Deborah Wahl – Global Chief Marketing Officer
Megan Stooke – Director - Brand Experience, GM Global Brand Marketing
Heather E Stewart – General Director, Global Media and Marketing Services
Sarah Schrode – Branded Entertainment Manager
Danielle Yocum – Global Marketing Manager
Agency | McCann Detroit/McCann Worldgroup
Chuck Meehan – Chief Creative Officer
Brad Emmet – Chief Creative Officer
Michael Raso – Creative Director / AD
James Lemaitre – Creative Director / Writer
Grant Theron – GM Global Business Lead & Chief Executive Officer Commonwealth
Anne Feighan – Chief Strategy Officer
Michael Panley – SVP Group Account Director
Jason Dale – Account Director
Amanda Macielak – Account Supervisor
Jeff Beverly – EVP Global Director of Content
Adam Van Dyke – Senior Producer
Laurie Pyykonen – SVP, Director of Business Affairs
Julie Peterhans – Associate Director, Business Management
Stacy Swann – Associate Director, Business Affairs
Deb Silva – Business Manager
Cynthia Noyes - VP, Broadcast Traffic Manager
Production Company | Gifted Youth, LLC
Jake Szymanski – Director
Nick Jasenovec – Director - 2nd Unit
Josh Morse – Executive Producer
Casey Wooden – Head of Production
Stephan Mohammed – Producer
Kramer Morgenthau – Director of Photography
Editorial | Rock Paper Scissors
Adam Pertofsky – Editor
Shade Shariatzaheh – Executive Producer
Janae Abraham – Producer
Zoe Mougin – Editor
VFX / Finishing | Framestore
Dan Roberts – Executive Producer
Katie Buckley – Producer
Alex Thomas - Creative Director
Audio Mix & Sound Design | Lime
Rohan Young – Sound Design and Mix
Jeremy Nichols – Audio Assistant
Susie Boyajan - Executive Producer
Color | Company 3
Stefan Sonnefeld – Colorist
Blake Rice - Color Producer
Post Music | JSM
Joel Simon – CEO/CCO/Co-Composer
Jeff Fiorello – VP/Executive Producer
Norm Felker - Producer
Andrew Manning - Producer
Sharon Cha - Producer
Rebecca Riter - Co-Composer
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