The three-row 2023 Kia Telluride plays sidekick for a desperate dad who forgot his baby’s binky in the automaker’s latest Super Bowl commercial, but the story doesn’t end when the spot is over.
That’s when the fun starts.
Kia is presenting three alternate endings for the 60-second ad exclusively on its TikTok channel to keep the story alive and generate engagement.
After seeing each outcome, Kia wants viewers to share how they’d like the adventure to end, said Russell Wager, Kia America’s vice president of marketing.
The ad is scheduled to debut Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show. It will air in the third quarter of Sunday’s game. The spot was created by David & Goliath, Kia’s agency of record.
“TikTok is where the conversation is, more so than Twitter and Facebook and Instagram during the Super Bowl, so we wanted to have that dialogue started before, and carry on afterwards,” Wager told Automotive News. “So we’re just giving them three ways that it could end, and then we’re saying, ‘You tell us how it ends in your mind.’ ”
The ad opens with a couple and their baby checking in at a mountain resort. The father realizes he forgot their daughter’s favorite pacifier and sprints to his Telluride X-Pro, an off-road version of the large crossover that’s new for the 2023 model year.
A bystander catches him speeding off and posts it online with the hashtag “#binkydad,” sparking a social media frenzy.
As the father zips home, the Telluride is seen tearing through snowy terrain, cutting through a football stadium and even going airborne in a construction zone on the hectic journey.
Kia tweaked its typical formula for this commercial. While Wager said the brand typically focuses on the capabilities of its utility vehicles and the adventures consumers can have in them, Kia hasn’t “tried to instill a specific family message” as it is now doing with the binky concept.
The mini-emergency surrounding the forgotten binky is a relatable premise that Wager said should resonate with many parents.
