Cute dogs and Super Bowl ads are a tried-and-true pairing. But robot dogs? Pooches of the electric variety could be having a moment this year, with both Kia and beer brand Sam Adams including them in Super Bowl marketing.

Kia today released its 60-second Super Bowl ad that plugs its new electric vehicle, the EV6, by introducing Robo Dog—a plug-in puppy that chases the EV6 in search of a charge. Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” plays during the pursuit, which ends with the puppy getting some much-needed juice from the EV6.

The ad, from David & Goliath, is accompanied by a range of digital marketing meant to popularize the pooch. A TikTok integration includes a video showing the dog turning around every time “turn around” is heard during Tyler’s song. Kia is also promoting the Petfinder Foundation— which supports animal shelters—with what it calls “Robo Dogmented Reality.” That involves asking people to scan a QR code distributed on Kia digital channels that results in the Robo Dog coming to life on smartphone screens, and also gives a link to a Petfinder site where users can find dogs in need of adoption.

Kia joins BMW and Nissan in using the Super Bowl to promote new EVs as automakers ramp up production of plug-in cars.

“To introduce over 100 million viewers to the Kia EV6, we wanted to juxtapose the future with the emotions we all know and understand today – the love that can be shared between a human and an animal,”  Russell Wager, VP of marketing for Kia America, said in a statement.

Sam Adams is using its robo-dog in a much different way—to retrieve beer. The beer brand, which will run a regional Super Bowl ad, has a teaser out that shows its Your Cousin from Boston character asking the high-tech canine to “fetch me a Sam.” The robot dog, which is a lot less cute than Kia’s plug-in critter, comes from Boston-based robotics and AI company Boston Dynamics. Sam Adams is owned by Boston Beer Co. 

The ad comes from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, which was behind last year’s Sam Adams regional Super Bowl ad that spoofed Budweiser's Clydesdales. It drew a lot of attention because it dropped at the same time Budweiser announced that it would not be running a Super Bowl ad. Now Goodby has another spot that could also successfully play off what a national advertiser is doing, in Kia’s robot dog. 

Revisit past pooch-filled spots in Ad Age's Super Bowl Ad Archive.

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