GM’s Super Bowl Ad Hits A Chord With 'Sopranos' Fans, But Will It Generate Electric Truck Sales?

GM (GM) is betting on reaching a new generation of customers with its Chevy Silverado EV after the debut of its Super Bowl ad inspired by "The Sopranos".

Titled “New Generation,” the ad features a modernized version of the opening sequence of the HBO hit series “The Sopranos,” which aired from 1999 to 2007 and has now discovered a resurgence in popularity among a new generation of fans.

Instead of lead character Tony Soprano driving his 1999 Chevy Suburban from Manhattan to New Jersey, his TV daughter Meadow, played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler in the cult-classic show, is shown driving the electrified 2024 Chevy Silverado EV. She is reunited with her brother A.J., played by Robert Iler.

Notable changes to the ad also include Meadow with a lollipop instead of Tony, who smoked a cigar while he drove the route in the opening credits of the show.

Jennifer Hoffman, Chevrolet’s senior manager of marketing and advertising, told the Detroit Free Press, “After having such a great run in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, ["The Sopranos" is] connecting with the new generation. So it's seamless for us when we think about this truck ... it's really trying to reach a new segment of people.”

The Chevy Silverado EV, which first debuted in January, is expected to offer 400 miles of range on a single charge, as well as four-wheel steering, 17-inch diagonal LCD freeform infotainment screen, 11-inch diagonal reconfigurable driver instrument display, as well as fixed-glass roof and 24-inch wheel options.

“Because we were starting with this whole new platform, we could make something that's completely different than not only what you expect from a truck, but what you expect from an EV,” Hoffman told the news outlet. “I think it can bring in a whole new generation of customers who haven't necessarily thought, ‘Hey, I want to be in a truck every day.’ ”

Initial orders of the truck seem promising as GM has already secured at least 110,000 reservations for the pickup, which opened on Jan. 5. Those numbers were announced during its Q4 2021 earnings report on Feb. 1.

“More than 110,000 Silverado EVs are reserved so far, including reservations from more than 240 fleet operators, and the numbers keep growing,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in an open letter to shareholders at the time.

GM is taking reservations for the Silverado EV and said it will debut the WT model in spring 2023 and the fully-loaded RST First Edition version in fall 2023.

The electric pickup truck has a price tag that starts at $39,900.

As of Monday premarket hours, shares of GM were trading at $48.70, down 13 cents, or 0.27%.