Hyundai was the first Korean car-maker to advertise in the Super Bowl. Of course, at the time they were the only Korean company selling cars in the US, so they were first by default. Now, company spokesman Chris Hosford, who probably has the longest tenure of any American employee of any Korean company, says that the gigantic "chaebol" might sit-out this year's Super Bowl. Hyundai is by far the biggest company of any kind in South Korea, said to be responsible for as much as 10% of that nation's gross national product. The company is so "important" to South Korea that, as you read on this website, when the head of the company was found guilty of several criminal counts, the judge refused to send him to jail, saying the country was so dependent on this corporate leader that putting him in jail would somehow endanger all of South Korea.
According to Automotive News, Hyundai Motor America is considering withdrawing as a Super Bowl advertiser. The automaker blames a worsening economy, says Chris Hosford, Hyundai spokesman. " We are reviewing whether or not we want to advertise on the Super Bowl," Hosford tells Automotive News. (Photo - Hyundai Chairman Chung was ordered to contribute US$1.1 billion "to society" following criminal convictions, but avoided prison time when a judge said his incarceration would harm the country).
" A lot of economic indicators clearly show the economy is slowing," Hosford says. " Is this the best thing
to do with our advertising funds in the first quarter?"
In October, Hyundai said it would advertise during the Super Bowl for the first time with two 30-second commercials. Super Bowl XL II airs on Fox on Sunday, Feb. 3. Fox is charging advertisers as much as $2.7 million for a 30-second commercial, two sources familiar with the negotiations said in October. Hosford says that if Hyundai remains in the Super Bowl, the automaker will review its creative strategy to determine whether it fits a deteriorating economy. (end of news story)
Hyundai has had some bad luck with the Super Bowl before. As we've noted elsewhere on this website, Hyundai's first few years in the US, selling the Excel small car, had their US sales beginning in 1986, but were so poorly-built that thousands of them literally fell apart after just a few thousand miles. Also, Hyundai was so determined to set a "100,000 sold in one year" record (which they actually accomplished in an impressive seven months) that the company would sell a car to just about anyone who wanted one, credit standing of the buyer often not taken into consideration.
Hyundai improved their quality and began offer iring the industry's first-ever 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. They developed a larger car, Sonata, and used Super Bowl advertising to launch that model; Sonata was the first Korean car advertised on the Super Bowl. (Photo - A 1992 Hyundai Excel, the model which launched the South Korean car business in the US).
The problem was that the ships carrying the cars from South Korea to the US arrived late, so people who saw the TV spot and went to their local dealers found out that the car was not yet available ... "Still on the boat", most of them were.
The company has made tremendous leaps forward in design and reliability, and their all-new upper-class Genesis sedan was launched this week at the Detroit Auto Show. Hyundai has partnered with Ford and, to some extent, Mitsubishi over the years, since they started making cars in 1974.
Hyundai is the largest of all the South Korean "chaebols," a term whose meaning is similar to that of the Japanese "keiretsu".
Many Americans in the business world know that Japanese "keiretsu" are the huge corporate conglomerates which cut across many layers of that society, and what led to the coining of the phrase, "Japan, Inc.," in this country in the late 1970s. Before WWII, keiretsus were called zaibatsus. Zaibatsus were broken-up by the General Douglas MacArthur-led American occupation following Japan's surrender, but were essentially re-formed, in time, through the purchase of other companies' stock by competing Japanese corporations. (Photo - Hyundai's 2009 Genesis sedan, introduced this week at the Detroit Auto Show).
Which car companies choose to advertise in the Super Bowl, and whether or not they pay the additional
stiff fees demanded for some sort of "exclusivity" (ie, only American car-maker, only Asian car-maker, etc.) remains to be seen for this year's extravaganza.
Hyundai has more capital and worldwide political influence than some sovereign nations. When they talk about dropping advertising in what is traditionally the highest-rated TV program of the year, that doesn't bode well for the American economy, and sends a strong negative signal to the rest of the world.
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