See Mike Myers play ‘Dr. EV-il’ in GM’s Super Bowl commercial
He must solve climate change before taking over the world in ad that pushes electric vehicles
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In General Motors’ version of an “Austin Powers” movie, Mike Myers plays Dr. EV-il—as in electric vehicles—and the character realizes he needs to solve climate change before taking over the world.
That is the plot of the automaker’s Super Bowl ad, which was released today after several days of teasing its use of the 1990s film franchise to push its EV plans in Sunday’s game. GM and agency McCann were able to lure back several key members of the film’s cast, including Rob Lowe as Young Number Two and Seth Green as Scott Evil.
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In the ad, the characters are shown taking over GM’s Detroit headquarters. Between one-liners, they sneak in GM plugs, including promoting its Ultium battery platform, which the company has touted as enabling the construction of a range of EVs at different price points. One scene shows a range of GM current and future cars and products, such as the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Silverado EV and a Cadillac concept car called the InnerSpace—an electric and autonomous luxury vehicle that GM debuted earlier this year at CES.
But the ad also pitches EVs more broadly as pro-environment, with Scott Evil noting that they can “reduce tailpipe emissions.”
The climate change messaging is party aimed at younger buyers who are “extremely purpose-driven and it’s important to understand the connection to that,” GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said in an interview.
The ad in some ways relies on viewer recall of the “Austin Powers” movies—which were released in 1997, 1999 and 2002. (It's the second straight year a Super Bowl advertiser used an aging Myers creation; he reprised ”Wayne’s World” for Uber Eats last year.)
Asked whether the Austin Powers references might be lost on younger generations, Wahl said: “They have absorbed an enormous amount of content from the 80s and 90s and they are well aware of many of these things, and of course, it’s been in popular culture references. Even if they don’t get it, the story is pretty clear.”
GM is among several brands using the game to tout EVs, including Kia, BMW, Nissan and Swedish startup Polestar. GM also touted EVs in last year’s Super Bowl ad, which starred Will Ferrell. The automaker has pledged to pour $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle development through 2025, while debuting 30 new EVs globally, with two-thirds available in North America.
Credits
- Date
- Feb 10, 2022
- Client :
- General Motors
- Agency :
- McCann-Detroit
- Global Chief Marketing Officer :
- Deborah Wahl
- Director, Brand Experience GM Global Brand Marketing :
- Megan Stooke
- Branded Entertainment Manager :
- Sarah Schrode
- GM Brand Marketing Manager :
- Suzanne Hinz
- GM Brand Assistant Marketing Manager :
- Amanda Reuss
- GM Lead Counsel, Sales and Marketing :
- Frank Hamidi
- VP Corporate Communications :
- Dave Roman
- Director Corporate Communications :
- Juli Huston-Rough
- Sr. Manager GM Brand Communications :
- Arianna Kughn
- Sr. Manager GM Brand and Innovations :
- Cambrey Thomas
- GM Brand and Digital Communications :
- Jasmine Swain
- Co-Chief Creative Officer :
- Chuck Meehan
- Co-Chief Creative Officer :
- Brad Emmett
- Group Creative Director :
- Rob Legato
- Associate Creative Director :
- Michelle Musallam
- Associate Creative Director :
- Nick Marine
- Executive Integrated Producer :
- Hafeez Saheed
- GM Global Business Lead & Chief Executive Officer Commonwealth :
- Grant Theron
- EVP Executive Account Director :
- Krysty Sagnia
- Global Head of Strategy and Research :
- Diana Ceausu
- Sr. Strategist :
- Francheska Gjeloshaj
- VP Account Director :
- Jason Dale
- Account Director :
- Sara Peters
- Account Supervisor :
- Amanda Cousino
- Senior Account Executive :
- Randi Tate
- Associate Director Business Affairs :
- Stacy Swann
- Manager Business Affairs :
- Deb Silva
- VP Broadcast Traffic Manager :
- Cynthia Noyes
- Associate Director UI Design :
- Jason Walker
- Social Agency :
- Weber Shandwick
- EVP Client Experience :
- Steve Janisse
- EVP Integrated Media Strategy :
- Brad Burke
- VP Platform Strategy :
- Benjamin Klein
- Group Creative Director :
- Tony Kause
- Sr. Art Director :
- Tim Rocklage
- Copywriter :
- Anna Jacobs
- VP Client Experience :
- Shenetta Johnson
- Production Company :
- Bootleg Films
- Director :
- Tim Kirkby
- Executive Producer :
- Greg Jordan
- Line Producer :
- Ira Brooks
- USA Production Support :
- IRocket Film
- Managing Director :
- Sara Eolin
- EP/Head of Production :
- Marla Whittaker
- Editorial :
- Cosmo Street
- Editor :
- Tom Scherma
- Digital and Social Content Editor :
- Andrew Corrales
- Executive Producer :
- Yvette Cobarrubius
- Head of Production :
- Marie Mangahas
- Producer :
- Yole Barrera
- Visual Effects :
- AFX Creative
- Creative Director/ 2D Supervisor :
- Chris Noellert
- VFX Supervisor/ 3D Lead :
- Tom Connors
- Composite Supervisor :
- Felix Thedeby
- Senior Producer :
- Alex Michael
- Production Coordinator :
- Giulia Rocca
- Head of Production :
- Esther Minitser
- Executive Producer :
- Nicole Fina
- Managing Director :
- Mark Leiss
- Color :
- AFX Creative
- Colorist :
- Derek Hansen
- Assistant Colorist :
- Zachary Hetlage
- Color Producer :
- Jessica Amburgey
- Music :
- George S. Clinton
- Opening Title :
- AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY
- Courtesy of :
- New Line Productions
- Music and Sound Design :
- JSM Music
- CEO/CCO :
- Joel Simon
- VP/Executive Producer :
- Jeff Fiorello
- Senior Producer :
- Norm Felker
- Producer :
- Andrew Manning
- Producer :
- Sharon Cha
- Composer :
- Jason Krebs
- Composer :
- Seamus Kilmartin
- Composer :
- Cecil Campanero
- Sound Designer :
- Nathan Kil
- Audio Mix and Sound Design :
- Eleven Sound
- Mixer/Sound Designer :
- Jeff Payne
- Assistant Mixer :
- Andrew Smith
- Executive Producer :
- Melissa Elston
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