Simply put, America isn’t adopting electric vehicles fast enough. And it’s not due to a lack of accessibility. EVs, particularly those made by General Motors, are now incredibly affordable (and advanced), yet questions linger about features like range and charging. Following the launch of their #EVerybodyIn campaign at CES, a rallying cry for an all-electric future, General Motors looked to Super Bowl LV to lay down the EV gauntlet and kickstart a nationwide electric movement. While we could have continued to opine about the importance of making the switch, it was clear that the country wouldn’t be receptive to another lecture about right and wrong. Instead, people needed to be challenged.?

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Electric vehicles have long been on the fringe and have had huge barriers to adoption. But with GM committed to go all electric by 2035 - they needed to make a big statement to shine a light on how their revolutionary battery will change the game. So when Will Ferrell finds out Norway sells way more electric cars than the U.S., a foil was created and a battle was born. He grabs friends Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina to join the fight and spark an international story.

The strategy behind our content was to awaken the competitive spirit of Americans by providing a clear challenge and a focal point. And while the teaser videos and Super Bowl spot certainly did that, it takes two to tango, as the saying goes. To make sure the “other team” was punching back, we previewed our plans with the Norwegian government, tourism bureau (Visit Norway) and its vaunted EV association in hopes we would set off an international incident. ?

Having studied their electric transformation, which was built on equal parts celebrity endorsement and government programming, we were betting on Norwegian national pride and a good local PR story to fuel some trans-Atlantic trash talk. And it’s a good thing we have big mouths, because otherwise we may have bit off more than we could chew.

When actor Will Ferrell finds out Norway is selling way more EVs than America, he loses it and is on a mission to correct this. He recruits his friends Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson, and with GM’s revolutionary Ultium battery, he rallies America by taking the fight to Norw­ay. His trip there is filled with obstacles, but he’s determined to win this fight even though none of them ever actually make it to Norway.

The :60 film ran on the Superbowl.

In the wildly crowded space that was Super Bowl week, our message truly broke through. The manufactured conflict led to over 1,800 unique international news articles and 4.3 billion views. Then, during the game, we racked up more than more than1 million views on Twitter alone with the release of an original remix. Oh, and “Will Ferrell” became the fourth-highest Twitter trend in the US.

In total, we were able to generate more than 1,700 broadcast clips and 2,400 print and online articles. Meanwhile on social, we sparked200 million impressions, 90 million branded video views, 49,000 mentions, a 91% positive-neutral sentiment and an earned reach of 636million.