After sitting atop Mount Olympus, a move to Palm Springs would be quite a letdown for anyone—especially for Zeus, a weather god and sender of thunder and lightning. That is the quandary BMW portrays in its Super Bowl ad.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, playing Zeus, has a hard time adjusting to California retirement in the 60-second spot, which comes from Goodby Silverstein & Partners with Bryan Buckley directing. Zeus grows bored and frustrated with menial lighting tasks, like delivering a charge to an electric hedge trimmer and a golf cart. But he perks up when his wife Hera, played by Salma Hayek Pinault, gets him an electric BMW iX.
The reinvigorated couple then cruises in the electric SUV while singing along to Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue,” as Zeus uses his powers to switch all the traffic lights to green.