Hyundai Attempts Mass Hypnosis for Super Bowl XLV

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America will lift the veil on one of the longest standing conspiracies in the auto industry during Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, Feb. 6.  Hyundai contends that consumers have been conditioned to purchase boring compact cars for practicality and reliability, and accept uninspired design, cramped interiors, and limited innovation, for far too long. Marketing has systemically lowered expectations in the compact car segment, with consumers rewarding the industry by continuing to buy appliance-like clones. Hyundai urges consumers to "Snap Out of It," with a two-part group therapy session beginning in the game's first quarter with a spot called "Hypnotized," followed by a healing session in Q3 with an ad called "Deprogramming." Both offer the all-new 2011 Elantra as treatment for the malaise afflicting the long-suffering compact car shopper.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091001/HYUNDAILOGO)

Hyundai marks its fourth consecutive year as a Super Bowl advertiser by deprogramming 100 million Americans tuned in to watch the game. Both Elantra spots, themed "Snap Out of It," stem from the same campaign that originated during the AFC Championship Game, but offer two distinct interpretations.  

"Hypnotized" features everyday driving imagery interlaced with the rhythmic staccato placement of title cards asking: "Have we been hypnotized to believe compact cars are good enough?"  The spot questions the idea that compact cars are as good as they can be, and suggests consumers in turn question how that belief has become so ingrained in our culture. Long-held beliefs softened by the first spot are then confronted directly with the second, called  "Deprogramming," which seeks to hypnotize 100 million viewers simultaneously through a kaleidoscope of graphics featuring compact car stereotypes paired with a soothing voiceover declaring, among other things, "compact cars can be more." Once the viewer is fully entranced, the voice calmly brings them back to reality saying, "Snap out of it, man."  After the Elantra reveal, look for Hyundai to play further off viewers lulled into therapeutic susceptibility with a light-hearted nod to New Age empowerment.

"We love the Super Bowl's ability to transform over 100 million Americans into advertising aficionados, so we went with a playful theme that ties a marketing-driven conspiracy theory to our fresh take on the compact car segment, the 40-mpg Elantra," said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America.  "Building from the first two Elantra ads in the AFC Championship Game, and 10 viral spots online right now, the Super Bowl shifts the campaign into top gear with what may be the biggest group therapy hypnosis session ever attempted."

Hyundai will round out its Super Bowl appearance with a third spot starring the 2011 Sonata Hybrid which highlights Hyundai's commitment to innovation. The ad, titled "Anachronistic City," shows a variety of early-generation devices – all innovative in their time – to convey that, while Sonata is not the first hybrid to the market, it is a sophisticated evolution of hybrid technology and a smart challenger of conventional, early-generation hybrids. The Sonata Hybrid spot will run in the fourth quarter.  

All three Super Bowl commercials feature Hyundai's 2011 "New Thinking, New Possibilities" brand vision.  Innocean Worldwide Americas, Hyundai's agency of record, is responsible for all creative. To view Hyundai's Super Bowl ads, please visit, www.hyundainews.com/Media_Kits/Video_Clips/.

The 2011 Elantra sets the bar in the compact sedan category offering modern design, outstanding fuel economy, loads of comfort and convenience features at a low starting price of $14,830.  Unique in the compact car segment, every 2011 Elantra sedan has a 40-mpg highway fuel economy rating, with no extra-cost fuel economy packages required.

Sonata Hybrid delivers a segment-leading 40-mpg highway fuel economy rating, higher than any other mid-size sedan, hybrid or non-hybrid. In city driving, Sonata Hybrid delivers 35 mpg, yielding a 37 mpg combined city/highway rating from the EPA. Sonata Hybrid's fuel economy is powered by the industry's first application of third-generation lithium polymer batteries which are more space efficient, lighter weight and offer higher energy density than existing nickel-metal hydride and pending lithium-ion applications.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 800 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and 5-years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

Journalists are invited to visit our news media web site: www.hyundainews.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Hyundai

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America