[7] Bmw I3 2015 In This Week Headline

Katie Couric and Bryant Gumble go for a drive in a BMW i3 in this Super Bowl ad(Photo: BMW)

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BMW has released a commercial for its electric i3 hatchback starring former Today Show hosts Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel that will air during Super Bowl on Sunday.

It is the first time in four years that the German automaker has purchased a spot to air during the NFL championship game.

The 60-second spot, "Newfangled Idea," begins in 1994 with a clip from Couric and Gumbel attempting to understand the Internet and email in an era when few foresaw how essential both would become to most peoples' everyday lives.

The ad ends with Couric and Gumbel expressing similar confusion as they drive the i3 — an all-electric car that joined BMW's i8 coupe last year to fill out the automaker's growing family of plug-in electric cars.

The idea that Americans are still wary of all-electric vehicles, fail to see their potential and are hesitant to buy them is the underlying theme of the ad.

Trudy Hardy, vice president of marketing for BMW North America, said the Super Bowl advertisement gives the automaker a chance to showcase its technology leadership in a light-hearted way and raise awareness of its electric vehicles.

"I think with electric mobility and our i-brand — the i3 and i8 — we still know that it still needs a great deal of awareness, and what bigger stage and what bigger spotlight than the Super Bowl? Hardy said.

Back in 1994, Couric and Gumbel — like many Americans — were trying to figure out what the Internet was and how it could be useful. Today, Hardy said, electric vehicles are at a similar stage.

"If you think about being at that tipping point…there was a great parallel, and we built off of that 1994 clip," she said.

BMW developed the i series brand to help solve mobility challenges faced by the world's most densely populated cities. The BMW i3 has a starting price of $43,350.

The BMW i3 spot marks the first time both Katie and Bryant have participated in national brand advertisement.

Hardy said the ad was created by Kirshenbaum, Bond, Senecal & Partners.

Couric currently serves as Yahoo Global News Anchor and Gumbel is host of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO.

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