Despite the fact that a second season won’t arrive until at least 2024, Netflix is hyping everyone’s favorite dystopian survival drama Squid Game in a Super Bowl commercial in partnership with General Motors.
The streamer teased the spot on Thursday — since teasing Super Bowl commercials is where we are as a society now — in a 10 second clip featuring Strays star Will Ferrell. “Is there a Mrs. Circle?” Ferrell asks one of the show’s masked Pink Soldiers at the wheel of one of GM’s electric vehicles from the backseat. “I don’t mean to pry, You know what? You don’t have to answer.”
The advertisement is part of a joint “EVs On Screen” campaign between GM and Netflix, in which the streamer is making a pledge to increase the presence of electric vehicles in relevant Netflix-produced shows and films.
“Entertainment has a huge impact on culture. We want to make EVs famous on streaming, small, and silver screens to build an EV culture through storytelling that incorporates the experiences of driving and owning an EV,” GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said in a press release. “Netflix is a great partner because of the company’s compelling storytelling, commitment to sustainability, and track record of sparking conversations that shape cultural trends.”
It’s admirable that Netflix wants to take steps towards more sustainable productions. However, the timing of the spot comes just weeks after bad press due to reported injuries on the set of the reality spinoff, Squid Game: The Challenge.
Production began in the U.K. last month during what was an unusual cold snap in Britain, where The Sun reported that contestants allegedly suffered in subzero temperatures during a game of “Red Light, Green Light” in an old airplane hangar — and that one even left on a stretcher.
“Even if hypothermia kicked in then people were willing to stay for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line. Too many were determined not to move so they stood there for far too long,” the publication wrote. “There were people arriving thinking they were going to be millionaires but they left in tears.”
Netflix later fired back at the claims, saying that fewer than five players required attention from medics, and that one injury occurred when a contestant ran into a wall and injured their shoulder. Though, producers vehemently denied that anyone was stretchered away.
“We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew, and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures,” a spokesperson for Netflix later told Variety. “While it was very cold on set — and participants were prepared for that — any claims of serious injury are untrue.”
