Automakers respond to GM’s #NoWayNorway Super Bowl spot with… pizza and fish?

Ford and Audi took to social media this week to respond to General Motors‘ “No Way, Norway” Super Bowl spot, and somehow, a discussion about global automotive electrification has devolved to the point where we’re questioning the size of each other’s fish.

The 90-second version of GM’s commercial stars Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina. It sets a somewhat aggressive (albeit playful) tone, suggesting that America needs to “crush” Norway in electric vehicle proliferation. Ferrell recruits the other comedians to his cause and, predictably, hijinks ensue. Here’s the clip in its entirety:

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You’ll be forgiven for missing parts of the thread if you weren’t clued in to GM’s commercial teasers (of course it had teasers), one of which features Ferrell calling in a prank order of pizza… for the entire population of Norway. Five million anchovy pizzas, to be precise:

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Are you with us so far? Good, because this is where things take a bit of a left turn. Ford of Norway saw the spot and responded with one of its own, featuring Mustang Mach-Es delivering pizzas all around Oslo. You see Ford of Norway already sells EVs, and GM doesn’t. That’s the joke. Also, pineapple? Really? Anyway, here it is:

#NoWayNorway?? Sorry buddy, when you finally get to Norway, your pineapple pizza will be here for you – we`ll save you a bite! ?Norway https://t.co/m3qUV1n6em pic.twitter.com/B4qeDKnUvX

— Ford Motor Norge (@Ford_Norge) February 4, 2021

But of course, we’re not done. This is where Audi gets into it (for some reason). The company’s Norwegian arm starts off with an unnecessarily serious return salvo (smashed globe and all) featuring Oslo’s own Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane, for the “Game of Thrones” fans out there). The spot comes off a bit preachy at first, but things get a bit more playful in Audi’s immediate follow-up. This spot, also featuring Hivju, establishes that Audi, too, is in on the joke, as Hivju thanks Ferrell for the pizza before realizing what’s on it:

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Audi’s fish-measuring rebuttal ties in nicely with another of GM’s teasers, in which Ferrell paraphrases what he’s allegedly reading from a Norwegian history book. He notes that, at one point, “two guys named Olaf had the first mackerel slap-fight.” In yet another bit of ichthyological one-upmanship, Hivju points out that real Norwegians slap each other in the face not with mackerel, but with salmon:

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If you’ve ever felt that Scandinavians are Europe’s pleasantly eccentric northern cousins, well, this whole thing probably won’t do much to change your mind. Just remember, if you plan to get into a fight with a Norwegian, be sure to bring a salmon.

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