When it comes to the concept of supply and demand, there are few better models than Superbowl commercial airtime. Thousands of enterprises would love a chance to market their products and services to over 100 million people in one shot, but big audiences demand big payouts.
In 2015, a 30-second ad cost $4.5 million, which would either be a mid-size company’s entire marketing budget, or a small business’ dream budget. Alas, only the big boys can afford such a hefty sum. For 2016, they’ll need $5 million to foot the bill, up 10% in just a year. The demand is apparently strong enough, though, as the commercial roster is filled yet again.
We’ve shown a few of the automotive ads that will air during the big game, but Hyundai has decided that $5 million for a single ad is small potatoes, and the Korean automaker has signed up for two 30-second slots.
In the first clip, two hikers are being chased by bears. In a panic, one of the hikers uses his smartwatch to start the 2017 Elantra (showing off Hyundai’s Blue Link Remote Start app). Like Honda in its singing-sheep Ridgeline ad, Hyundai went back to the well by using talking animals for humor. For such a massive amount of money, you’d think the company would want to deliver something a bit more original.
…and in their second spot, they did. In Hyundai’s second promotion of its new Elantra compact, two ladies are driving slowly through a town called “Ryanville.” As we soon find out, population is made up entirely of Ryan Reynolds clones. The handsome film star soon proves so distracting that the Elantra’s emergency braking system has to take over when the women almost run down yet another Ryan, who’s out walking a herd of dogs.
Hyundai says the ad is a “lighthearted look at the simple fact that all humans are prone to distractions.” I say it’s pretty funny, and definitely redeems the merely so-so first spot.
In both commercials, the Elantra comes out looking rather feature-rich for its $17,150 starting price. There’s also talk of an Elantra turbo on the way with 200 horsepower. Fiesty!
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.
Missing out on the self-driving future is a tough pill to swallow, especially as a car enthusiast. But that is what Tesla handed us on Wednesday, without a hint of mercy.
During its October 21, 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk told investors the Cybercab is meant mainly as a ride service. Further, nearly all of them will be owned and managed by Tesla.