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- The ad is scheduled to air during the Olympic opening ceremony on February 6th.
- The ad will also appear during pregame coverage of the Super Bowl.
As part of its plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this year, Chevrolet is bringing back some of its favorite consumer campaigns from the past century, starting with one of its most iconic commercials.
Viewers will get their first glimpse of the commercial, which will air during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, and another glimpse during the Super Bowl pregame show.
The latest spot is a “modern take” on the brand’s ad, “See the USA in Your Chevrolet,” sung by the late legendary entertainer and TV host Dinah Shore.
The updated commercial features the same song, but sung by up-and-coming country singer Brooke Lee, known for her songs “Dandelion” (featuring Lukas Nelson) and “So Beautiful.”
The ad, scheduled to air on February 6, follows Lee singing from the tailgate of a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 that the company flew to the top of Utah’s treacherous Castle Rock.
Steve Majoros, Chevrolet’s chief marketing officer, told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that to maintain the authenticity that underlines the brand, the company needs to shoot its ads the old-fashioned, hard way, without the use of artificial intelligence.
This is the third time General Motors has carted a Chevrolet up the 400-foot rock, having flown a Chevrolet Impala onto the rock for television and print advertising in 1964 and 1973.
“Third time’s the charm, right? Every time we’ve done it, it’s been symbolic: ‘What’s that Chevrolet doing on top of the mountain? It’s selling cars!'” he said. “It was done through the voice of the time. But the message that Chevrolet is on top is still very relevant today.”
Major US companies have come under fire for not hiring animators, actors, directors or cameramen and relying on AI in advertising to save money. Jeep was one of the first (and largest) car companies to use AI-generated visuals in advertising campaigns at scale.
While Majoros said any company today would be “foolish” not to take advantage of AI when they can, he said Chevrolet’s marketing team believes spending the extra money and effort is a sign of respect for its customers.
While some safety personnel and equipment on site were digitally removed and certain areas touched up with computer-generated imagery (CGI), the rest, including Lee’s song, was accomplished without the use of computers.
“We think this is a new period where Chevrolet can really communicate and make a statement about how we feel about ourselves and more importantly, how we feel about our customers and the impact we have on families,” Majoros said.
And because the song is a call to action, it was important to the team that all of the images of America seen from behind the windshield of a real Chevrolet were real places. Redwood National Park, California. St. Louis. Nashville; Florida Keys, Florida and New York City. All locations were visited by Silverado LT Trail Boss, Equinox, Equinox EV, Traverse, Corvette, and Trax vehicles.
When the lyrics become popular
The golden age of television also ushered in a golden age of advertising jingles, with GM’s “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” long considered one of the most famous. According to GM, the jingle was first performed on the Dinah Shore Show in 1951. The show was renamed the Dinah Shore Chevrolet Show in 1956 and ran until 1961.
“It’s surreal to collaborate with Chevrolet and put your voice on an iconic song that your grandparents knew by heart,” Lee said. “It’s a dream come true to collaborate with a brand I respect on a campaign that celebrates our beautiful country. I’m having a lot of fun driving the same Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 that will be featured on the U.S. tour.”
The song reflects America’s era of boundless optimism, which is why Majoros said there was no better theme to start the series with. After all, he said, the Chevrolet brand’s enduring meaning is as American as “baseball, hot dogs and apple pie.”
Choosing a country music star for the one-minute spot is a great fit for the brand. A significant portion of the approximately 1,000 songs that feature Chevrolet in their lyrics are from this genre. He said Lee was exactly what the team was looking for.
“We couldn’t have chosen a better person. We needed a sense of adventure,” Majoros said. “We needed someone willing to ride in the helicopter.”
The ad, which premiered during the Olympics and then appears during pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl, is cheaper than during the main show. Mike Marshall, head of global advertising at NBCUniversal, said the average cost of a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 60 was about $8 million. I quoted that number on my podcast last month.
Other promotions celebrating America’s birthday include exclusive special editions and appearance packages for five American-made vehicles in Chevrolet’s 2026 lineup, including the Corvette, Silverado EV, Silverado LD, Silverado HD and Colorado.
The collection, dubbed “Stars and Steel,” takes inspiration from the American flag and is scheduled to launch later this year. The Chevrolet Corvette CR1X sold for $2.6 million at Barrett-Jackson.
USA TODAY reporter Nick Brinkerhoff contributed to this report.
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Contact me at jcharniga@freepress.com.
