General Motors has decided not to advertise during Super Bowl XLIX.
In 2014, GM aired two 30-second ads during the most popular television event of the year supporting its Chevrolet brand. This year however don't expect a single commercial from the Motor City automaker.
The company also resisted showing any ads during the game in 2013 when then-global chief marketing officer of GM, Joel Ewanick, said that the company couldn't justify the expense of having a commercial during the Super Bowl.
Advertisers spend about $4.5 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad. Beer company Anheuser-Busch has already confirmed three spots for the biggest advertising day of the year.
The automotive category has been an issue for NBC, which is set to air the Super Bowl on February 1. Other companies that won't advertise this year includes: Acura, Honda Lincoln and Jaguar.
Some car companies have said they simply decided to avoid paying for ad time due to the timing of new car launches, according to Adage.com.
NBC was nearly 95 percent sold out of ad space for the Super Bowl this time last week. Other weak spots include technology and wireless companies, according to NBC.
There were 11 different nameplates that advertised last year, representing over one-fourth of the total ad time of the game, according to Kantar Media.
We reached out to GM to find out why we won't see any GM ads during the big game.
"While none of the GM brands are advertising during the game, both Chevrolet and GMC will have a presence in the Super Bowl," said Ryndee Carney, Manager for Cross-Brand Communications at GM to AutoWorldNews. "Chevrolet will present a Colorado to the MVP and GMC is the official vehicle of the NFL and will have an on-site presence in Phoenix."
"We decided not to advertise during the game this year because the timing of the event does not line up with the launch of any new products," Carney added.
Carney also told us that no plans regarding ads for the 2016 have been made yet.
A Communicus study of 120 Super Bowl ads over two years recently determined that 80 percent of commercials actually don't have a big impact on consumers' purchasing decisions, so maybe GM is on to something.
Seth Winter, NBC's executive vice president, said to CNN that 15 first-time sponsors have been lined up for this year's game.
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