Hyundai’s Super Bowl spot highlights Sonata’s remote parking tech

With the big game now less than a week away, we’re likely to see the trickle of auto manufacturers’ Super Bowl commercials transform into a flood. The latest comes from Hyundai, with a little help from some well-known small- and big-screen figures — and the always-amusing Bahstin accent. 

Hyundai’s spot features its “Smart Park” technology, which is capable of parking (or un-parking, John Krasinski of “The Office” points out) a vehicle in tight spaces, sans driver. The tech is shown off with a new Sonata sedan, of course, to maximize the potential for accent silliness. 

With Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans looking on (and commenting, of course), Krasinski demos the Sonata’s self-parking feature in what would otherwise be a too-small curbside space. 

“Using the Boston accent as our creative hook was something that quickly became a favorite during the creative development process,” said Hyundai chief marketer Angela Zepeda with the release of the commercial online Monday.

“Remote Smart Parking Assist was difficult to say and remember, but a truncated ‘Smaht Pahk’ caught on when one of our creatives said it in a Boston accent. We thought it was a fun, charming and memorable way to tell people about this incredible new technology using one of America’s most-recognized and beloved regional accents,” Zepeda said. 

Hyundai insists that the spot pokes fun at Bostonians purely out of affection, and the commercial contains “several” Easter eggs for the Beantown faithful. The automaker is even running a letter of appreciation to city residents in the Boston Globe just to make sure there it’s clear that the whole thing is meant to be light and funny. 

Look for the spot to air during the first quarter of Sunday’s championship game. 

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