GM’s Buick brand features convertible in 1st Super Bowl ad

DETROIT – General Motors’ Buick brand will use its first Super Bowl ad to plug a sleek new convertible as it continues the fight against an old image of cars that are custom-made for senior citizens.

The 30-second spot will feature New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and actress-model Emily Ratajkowski from the thriller “Gone Girl.” It will run sometime during Super Bowl 50 the night of Feb. 7.

The ad will promote Buick’s new Cascada, the brand’s first convertible in a quarter-century that is due in showrooms in a matter of weeks. The company says the car, with a sculpted look and wide, athletic stance, will continue its effort to change the perception of Buick.

Buick’s U.S. sales fell nearly 3 per cent last year even though total auto sales grew nearly 6 per cent. GM hopes to turn that around this year with three new vehicles including the Cascada, a redesigned LaCrosse full-size sedan and the Envision, a compact crossover SUV. The brand had a great year globally, though, passing 1.2 million in sales for the first time on popularity in China.

In 2014, the brand launched the “That’s not a Buick” U.S. ad campaign portraying the cars and SUVs as sporty luxury vehicles preferred by younger people. It followed years of ads that featured golfer Tiger Woods and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. The image-changing campaign is starting to work, according to GM. The average age of a Buick buyer was 66.2 in 2000, but that fell to around 58 last year, the company said.

Duncan Aldred, Buick’s sales and marketing chief, said Beckham’s unique talent and commitment to excellence represents the Buick brand well, as does Ratajkowski’s style.