You know that feeling when a brand finally stops being "sensible" and decides to have a little fun? That’s exactly what happened with the WeatherTech Super Bowl ad 2025. For over a decade, David MacNeil, the CEO of WeatherTech, has basically used his multi-million dollar Super Bowl slots to preach the gospel of American manufacturing. It was all about factories, laser-measured floor liners, and occasionally his dog, Scout.
But 2025? Honestly, it was a total curveball.
They ditched the factory tours. They stopped talking about "precision engineering" for sixty seconds. Instead, they gave us four women over the age of 70 in a 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible, blasting Steppenwolf’s "Born to Be Wild."
The Shift From Factories to "Professional Stunt Grannies"
WeatherTech has always been the "safe" brand. You buy their mats because you don't want mud in your truck. But for their 13th Super Bowl appearance (and 12th consecutive year), they decided to lean into chaos.
The ad, titled "Whatever Comes Your Way," was directed by Joseph Kahn. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he’s the guy behind massive music videos for Taylor Swift and Eminem. You could feel that energy immediately. The cuts were fast. The colors popped. It didn't look like a car mat commercial; it looked like a high-budget action movie trailer starring your grandma.
The premise was simple: four audacious seniors living their absolute best lives. They weren't just driving; they were "tagging" trucks with graffiti, flirting with guys at stoplights, and literally flashing a bingo hall after a big win.
The "professional stunt granny" disclaimer at the bottom was a nice touch. It signaled that WeatherTech finally realized they could entertain people without hitting them over the head with a "Made in America" sledgehammer for the entire duration of the spot.
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Why the 1963 Lincoln Continental?
Car nerds noticed this immediately. Using a blue '63 Lincoln Continental convertible wasn't just a style choice—it was a statement. It’s a classic American icon, which subtly keeps the brand’s "pro-USA" message alive without needing a voiceover to explain it. Plus, seeing four 70-somethings catching "air time" in a vintage heavy-metal land yacht while tea and cookies fly everywhere is just objectively funny.
The products were there, obviously. You saw the FloorLiner HP and the Cargo Liner doing the heavy lifting when the tea spilled during their off-roading segments. But the product was the "supporting actor" rather than the lead.
WeatherTech Super Bowl Ad 2025: By the Numbers
If you look at the industry data, this shift worked.
According to System1 Group, which tracks emotional responses to ads, the WeatherTech Super Bowl ad 2025 scored a massive 5.2 stars. For context, that puts it in the top 3% of all Super Bowl ads ever tested.
- Brand Fluency: 91%. (That means almost everyone who watched it knew exactly who was being advertised, even without the logo being on screen the whole time.)
- Creative Partner: Pinnacle Advertising (who has been with MacNeil for 13+ years).
- Directing Pedigree: Joseph Kahn (Grammy winner).
It’s a huge jump from their early days. Back in 2014, when they ran their first "You Can't Do That" ad, their brand recognition was tiny. Now, they're a household name that can afford to spend $7 million+ just to show some cool grandmas causing trouble.
The Strategy Behind the "Wild" Turn
Why the change? David MacNeil basically said that the "American-made" story is already well-known. Everyone knows WeatherTech makes stuff in Bolingbrook, Illinois. They’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars telling us that.
The 2025 goal was different: Relevance.
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By targeting a multi-generational audience through humor and nostalgia (that Steppenwolf track is a universal "cool" trigger), they expanded their reach. It wasn’t just for the guy who owns a Ford F-150 anymore. It was for anyone who wants to feel a bit "wild" on the weekend but doesn't want to ruin their upholstery.
What Most People Missed
There’s a subtle irony in the ad. These women are technically the "mess makers." In almost every previous WeatherTech commercial, the "mess maker" was a muddy kid, a shedding dog, or a clumsy husband.
By making the "cool seniors" the ones creating the chaos, the brand tapped into a demographic that usually gets ignored or portrayed as "fragile" in advertising. These women weren't fragile. They were menacing the local traffic.
Actionable Insights for Brand Watchers
If you're looking at this from a business or marketing perspective, there are a few things you can actually take away from how WeatherTech handled this:
- Don't over-explain your brand once you're famous. If people already know what you do, stop selling the "how" and start selling the "feeling."
- Contrast is king. A car mat is boring. A grandmother tagging a semi-truck is not. Putting them together creates "stickiness" in the brain.
- Invest in the "look." Hiring a music video director like Joseph Kahn made a "boring" product look cinematic. High production value pays off on the Super Bowl stage.
If you want to see the evolution for yourself, you can go back and watch the 2020 "Lucky Dog" spot or the 2023 "We All Win" ad. The difference in tone is night and day.
Next time you're thinking about your own brand's "story," ask yourself if you're being too literal. Sometimes, the best way to sell a floor mat is to show someone having so much fun they've completely forgotten they even have one.
To keep track of how these ads impact long-term sales, watch WeatherTech's expansion into home and pet products over the next year. They aren't just a car company anymore—they're a "protection" company. And as those grandmas proved, you need a lot of protection when you're born to be wild.