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For Hyundai’s 12th Super Bowl appearance in 13 years, the South Korean automaker looked for inspiration in Beantown.
The company’s 60-second spot, handled by agency-of-record Innocean, is pure Boston. Titled “Smaht Pahk”—yes, just like a Bostonian would say—it boasts an all-star cast of celebrities with ties to New England’s largest city: actors Chris Evans and John Krasinski, “Saturday Night Live” alum Rachel Dratch and Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz.
The first-quarter commercial is for Hyundai’s 2020 Sonata sedan, which is equipped with Remote Smart Parking Assist (casually called Smart Park in the ad). The automated tech is shown making parking easy everywhere from Boston “Hahbah” to Boston “Gahden.”
Hyundai also enlisted Boston-area comedians Robert Kelly and Tony Viveiros to handle the brand’s Twitter during the game.
While the local New England Patriots didn’t make it to Super Bowl LIV, “Smaht Pahk” still brought a hint of Boston to the game and was a hit with audiences, coming in at No. 2 on USA Today’s Ad Meter ranking.
BRAND: Hyundai
AGENCY: Innocean
QUARTER AIRED: Q1
SUPER BOWL: LIV
YEAR: 2020