Wonhong Cho (left), EVP and CMO of Hyundai Motor Co., and Jeffrey Godsick, EVP at Sony Pictures, announce the new deal.
When the next Spider-Man movie comes out in 2021 don’t be surprised if Peter Parker uses Smart Park to nestle his Sonata into a spot a la John Krasinski in the automaker’s Super Bowl commercial before meeting Mary Jane Parker somewhere.
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Hyundai Motor Co. have inked a new five-year deal that will have the automaker’s vehicles and technology feature prominently in five new Sony films, including Uncharted (July 2021); the sequel to Spider-Man: Far From Home (November 2021); the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (October 2022), with others to be revealed later.
Additionally, Hyundai will lend “substantial marketing support” while the two will collaborate the creation of new content. Beyond the length, no other terms of the deal were released.
(Hyundai hopes Sonata Super Bowl ad is “wicked smaht.”)
John Krasinski, formerly of The Office, uses the Smart Park feature on the new Sonata in Hyundai’s Super Bowl commercial.
“This strategic partnership with Sony Pictures will allow customers to understand and experience our human-centered future mobility vision through innovative vehicles and technologies,” said Wonhong Cho, executive vice president and CMO of Hyundai Motor, “illuminating a way forward for transforming how we move, interact, and design our lives for optimal benefits. We will offer various ways to inspire our customers and movie fans around the globe.”
Not only will Spider-Man fans see more Sonatas and Velosters rolling across the screen, the deal calls for the automaker to be involved in the creation of “vehicular concepts.” Many of those are expected to be based off of Hyundai’s mobility concepts.
One of the vehicles could be based on the personal air vehicle concept it introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
(Hyundai’s $52B “Strategy 2025” plan calls for battery cars and “personal air vehicles.”)
The three-pronged approach, Hyundai officials noted, will focus on Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a new form of mobility utilizing air space to drastically reduce transit time; Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV), an eco-friendly urban mobility device allowing customization for diverse lifestyles; and Hub, a space for mobility transfer and community activities.
Hyundai and Uber are partnering to develop flying cars to be used as ride-sharing vehicles. Those vehicles could be the basis of a vehicle in a Sony film.
The initial efforts will focus on introducing UAM concepts into movies, but it’s designed to grow from there, according to officials.
The partnership won’t be limited to product placements in films or creating something out of left field, like a Peter Parker special-edition Veloster, but instead is designed to create opportunities to leverage Sony “for marketing content and immersive entertainment, collaborate on infrastructure and vehicular concepts” for movies, as well as virtual reality and gaming, and to develop other experiences beneficial to both sides.
(Hyundai, Uber partner on aerial taxis, show off full-scale model.)
“This deal embodies the true definition of the word partnership,” said Jeffrey Godsick, EVP of Global Partnerships and Brand Management, and head of Location Based Entertainment at Sony Pictures Entertainment. “The deal has many layers, including substantial marketing support, but its real potential and impact come from groundbreaking content that we will develop together.”