By Nivedita Balu
(Reuters) - Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Polestar's ad taking a potshot at rivals Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) topped the list of the most popular commercials during Super Bowl LVI, new data on Monday showed.
The 30-second ad by the electric-car maker performed roughly 23 times better than other commercials aired during the game, according to consumer search data firm EDO, with its message of "no epic voiceovers," "no empty promises," and "no hidden agendas" aiming squarely at the idea of conquering Mars as well as the Volkswagen Dieselgate.
Five of the top 20 Super Bowl commercials that were the most searched online during and after the event were EV-focused and were made by Polestar, Kia, Nissan (OTC:NSANY), Chevrolet and BMW, EDO said, highlighting the rising popularity of battery-powered vehicles in the U.S. market.
The number of electric vehicle-related TV ads have quadrupled in recent years to 33,000 in 2021 from 8,100 in 2019 and are on pace for another significant increase this year, according to the data firm.
Polestar, which is owned by China's Geely and Volvo Cars, is in the process of going public through a reverse merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Gores Guggenheim in the first half of 2022.
Tesla boss Elon Musk responded with a laugh emoji on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), when one of his nearly 74 million followers pointed to the Polestar ad.
Tesla has been averse to spending on marketing, with Musk saying that he would rather use that money for product development.
Other hits this season were BMW's ad featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek Pinault and Nissan's 60-second action adventure ad with Eugene Levy.
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to deliver a Hollywood ending to the Super Bowl, which gives brands the chance to get in front of the year's largest U.S. television audience.