Hyundai Elantra dominates Academy Awards advertising

The King’s Speech may have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards last night, but the true winner - at least from an automotive perspective - was the 2011 Hyundai Elantra. The best looking small sedan of 2011 didn’t have to share the spotlight with anyone as Hyundai was the exclusive automotive sponsor for the third year in a row.

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra is powered by an all-new 1.8-liter inline-four that produces 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque. Throw in the six-speed automatic transmission and the Elantra shines with 28 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. Hyundai says that 40 mpg is attainable on the full range of Elantra trims, not just ECO models. This isn’t your typical small sedan, the Elantra looks brilliant and can offer best in class fuel economy.

Hyundai’s approach to their Academy Awards advertising was much more low key and to-the-point than the Super Bowl ads they produced. In total, Hyundai had nine advertisements airing before and during the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, including two new spots for the Elantra and Genesis called "Drawing Board" (shown above) and "Greatest Luxury," respectively. Other spots include "Good Things Come in Threes" highlighting Hyundai’s powertrains, "Comfy Home" featuring the Equus, "Family" featuring the Sonata, "Anachronistic City" featuring the Sonata Hybrid, "iPad" which highlights the Equus’ application of the iPad owner’s manual, and "Childhood" and "Deprogramming" also featuring the Elantra.