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   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   DETROIT — Automakers are largely sitting on the advertising sidelines   
   during this year’s Super Bowl amid uncertainty in the U.S. automotive   
   industry involving sales, tariffs and regulations.   
      
   Carmakers — historically major buyers of ads during the big game — have   
   been inconsistent with advertising during the Super Bowl in recent   
   years, with only a handful putting out spots each year.   
      
   “It’s definitely been on the decline,” said Sean Muller, CEO of ad data   
   company iSpot. “Autos are tightening their belts, and they’re probably   
   pulling back on their budgets, and certainly that’s reflected. I think   
   the Super Bowl is a good barometer for all of this.”   
      
   Automakers accounted for 40% of Super Bowl ad minutes in 2012, but   
   dropped all the way to 7% by 2025, according to iSpot. Only three   
   automakers are expected to air ads, totaling roughly two minutes, during   
   this year’s game.   
      
   The decline corresponds with instability in the automotive industry.   
   That turmoil started in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic and supply   
   chain issues and continued more recently with tariffs and pullbacks in   
   all-electric vehicles that have cost companies billions of dollars.   
      
   General Motors   
   , Toyota Motor   
    and Volkswagen   
    are the only automakers expected to advertise Sunday during Super Bowl   
    60 between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.   
      
   Chrysler parent Stellantis   
    was the only automaker to advertise during the big game last year, with   
    two ads that were a total of three minutes.   
      
   “The biggest shifts that are happening are between linear and streaming   
   and digital video. That’s occurring within pretty much every   
   advertiser,” Muller said.   
      
   Tim Mahoney, a longtime automotive marketing executive, said it’s a   
   balancing act when it comes to Super Bowl advertising. He said a company   
   has to have the right product, ad campaign, and, of course, capital to   
   stand out and get a return on its investment.   
      
   “Super Bowl is just a massive platform, but it has gotten so expensive,”   
   Mahoney, who worked for GM, VW, Subaru and Porsche, told CNBC. “There   
   are sometimes interesting ways to navigate around it. ... Adjacencies   
   can be smart.”   
      
   During Mahoney’s tenure, Subaru became the presenting sponsor of Animal   
   Planet’s Puppy Bowl and GM’s Chevrolet brand “blacked out” TV screens   
   just ahead of the Super Bowl for an ad for its in-vehicle Wi-Fi in 2015.   
      
   Outside of the Super Bowl, automakers have increased sports advertising   
   and embraced more streaming and regional advertising over national   
   reach, according to iSpot.   
      
   “They’re not cutting back in live sports,” Muller said, citing iSpot   
   data that automakers now represent roughly 60% of spend on live sports.   
      
   Autos out   
   Automotive executives who spoke to CNBC about not advertising during   
   this year’s Super Bowl said they were deterred due to the cost — $8   
   million on average for a 30-second ad — and felt their ad dollars would   
   be better spent elsewhere.   
      
   “We are going to really spread our efforts, so money and creativity,   
   over a year,” said Stellantis Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois,   
   who is well known for past Super Bowl ads. “There’s no need for a peak   
   or something in February.”   
      
   Stellantis, which is in the midst of a company turnaround plan, will   
   focus this year on the 250th anniversary of the U.S. as its major   
   marketing push in addition to more business-oriented spending and a   
   provocative social media campaign for Jeep featuring a singing fish it   
   launched this week.   
      
   Nissan Motor, which last advertised during the Super Bowl in 2022, is   
   also experimenting this year with parallel advertising.   
      
   The Japan-based automaker on Friday released a comedic, high-energy “Big   
   Game” social media ad promoting a chips-and-dip holder for its Nissan   
   Rogue SUV. The “Nissan Dip Seat” ad stars chef and “The Bear” actor   
   Matty Matheson promoting the fictional product. It also promotes a   
   sweepstakes to win one of the vehicles.   
      
   “One of the key things for us is that we wanted to kind of find a way   
      
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