Kia’s Russell Wager Previews EV6 Super Bowl Commercial

Korea's Kia is one of five automakers that will place ads during Super Bowl LVI on February 13 (the others are General Motors, Toyota, Nissan and BMW). MediaVillage has learned that its spot will focus on the new EV6 crossover electric car -- which is reaching its first customers now. It's likely that at least some of the other companies' ads will revolve around EVs, because the auto industry is going all-in on the tech. The just-concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) showcased only EVs.

MediaVillage talked to Russell Wager (pictured below), Vice President of Marketing at Kia America. Since 2015, Kia's ads have been created by Innocean with media placement managed by Canvas Worldwide. Canvas also is the media agency-of-record for Kia’s sister companies Hyundai and Genesis. Last year, Kia updated its logo as part of a rebranding strategy. The new design is intended to convey "symmetry," "rhythm" and rising," and evoke confidence-inspiring handwriting. Wager said the Super Bowl is "the perfect opportunity to show off the Kia brand evolution and new logo."

The EV6 (pictured at top) is an important car for Kia, and it will offer 274-mile range, available Augmented Reality head-up display and very fast charging (nearly 70

Jim Motavalli

Auto-industry expert Jim Motavalli is a highly regarded writer for MediaVillage ("Motavalli on Marketing"), The New York Times, Barron's, Autoblog.com, National Public Radio's Car Talk, and others. He is author or editor of eight books, inc… read more