Nissan has teased its upcoming Superbowl ad starring the 2023 Nissan Z. Called “Thrill Driver”, it also features some human stars in the form of Eugene Levy, Danai Gurira, and Dave Bautista. The bulk of the action, however, appears to take place with a Z being chased by black-suited motorcyclists. If that sounds like déjà vu, that’s because 32 years ago Nissan released another star-powered Superbowl commercial to promote the then-new 300ZX Twin Turbo.
In that commercial, “Dreamer”, the star power was behind the camera. It was directed by Ridley Scott of Alien and Blade Runner fame, giving the spot a strong sci-fi vibe. In it, a driver has a dream — there were a lot of dream ads for the Z back then — where he’s being chased down by motorcycles, some kind of Can-Am race car, and then a jet. Of course, he outruns them all in the Z.
Amazingly, the ad was heavily protested by a bunch of organizations for glamorizing speed. According to a 1990 article in the New York Times, those included the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Association of Governors’ Highway Safety Representatives, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Government Employees Insurance Company, and American Motorists Insurance Company.
The ad looks positively tame today, but it apparently caused such an uproar that Nissan pulled the ad and it was only ever aired that one time.
This year, the Z ad appears to have a more humorous slant. After all, if it stars the dad from American Pie and Schitt’s Creek as a guy named Dragon, how serious could it be? Danai Gurira from The Walking Dead and Black Panther, as well as Dave Bautista from Blade Runner 2049 and Dune.
Still, it gives off some similar vibes as the Ikazuchi Yellow Z is pursued by motorcycles, helicopters, and a black sports car that looks like a Mad Maxi-fied foruth-gen Firebird WS6. Wanna bet five bucks that Levy jumps the Z over the ‘Bird? With a more tongue-in-cheek feel maybe the fun police won’t be so quick to ban it. Hopefully this ad will fare better than the 1990 one did. The world needs more cool Z footage on their TV screens.
