Following suit with many other companies and organizations, General Motors has released a teaser of its Ultium EV Super Bowl commercial. While the new commercial follows the format of a whole series or earlier GM commercials, it has a very special star, who many of us haven’t seen for some time.
Editor’s Update: We’ve embedded the full video for your enjoyment.
The GM Super Bowl commercial is entitled, “EV Meets Evil | #EVerybodyin.” It features actor Mike Myers, the star of Austin Powers. However, in this commercial, at least based on the segment GM is teasing in the clip above, it’s not Austin, but his nemesis Douglas “Dougie” Powers, who’s better known as Dr. Evil.
The commercial reminds us of a long-running series of GM commercials that primarily featured JD Power awards, though JD Power isn’t mentioned in the clip above. It’s made to appear as though the automaker invited a group of people to check out its Ultium EV platform.
The group stands around the presenter who asks, “So, how far do you think GM’s Ultium EVs can go?” For those unaware of Ultium, it’s the automaker’s name for its new purpose-built electric vehicle architecture, as well as its upcoming in-house battery cells and upcoming charging infrastructure.
Of course, the responses vary, though only slightly. The first answer is 180 miles, followed by another person responding as a question, “More? … 300 miles?” Then, the camera pans over to Dr. Evil, who raises his famous pinkie to lips and says, “One million miles?”
After Dr. Evil’s response, it appears the situation takes a turn for the worse, though we don’t yet know what happens in the rest of the commercial. We’ll have to wait until Sunday’s Super Bowl to find out.
The interesting part here is that the question isn’t really clear, and that’s likely on purpose. Asking how far the Ultium EVs can go could be a question about range, and if it is, the first two responses would make sense. While some of today’s EVs still only have a range of around 200 miles or less, most new and upcoming electric cars are targeting 300 miles.
The question could also be about longevity, meaning how long a GM Ultium battery can go before it needs to be replaced. In this case, Dr. Evil would probably be right since automakers have been touting one-million-mile EV batteries. In many cases, an electric vehicle’s battery may last longer than the car itself. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
