In Buick's announcement about their first-ever Super Bowl commercial, they picked actress and model Emily Ratajkowski as their advertisement star. In the announcement, Ratajkowski said that the commercial finally allowed her to "combine my love of sports, cars and fashion, while checking off a bucket list item—being in a Super Bowl commercial!"
Through Buick's generous connection, we got on the phone with her to ask her more about that.
When did you learn how to drive?
I was fifteen and a half, because you can get your permit in California at that age. I was definitely nervous. I was one of those people who always had older friends, so I had gotten really accustomed to being driven around. I wasn’t super pumped. Learning how to drive was a scary thing.
Did your parents teach you?
Yeah, I also had a driving instructor. He drove me around and taught me how not to hit things.
Oh we had to have that too. Mine was an ex-cop.
Mine was something like that. I remember him talking to me about 9/11 conspiracy theories.
What’s your favorite seat in the car?
Driving.
Oh, so you’re more into driving now—when did that switch?
When I spend a lot of time in New York, or somewhere when I don’t have a car, I miss that mobility and freedom that you have when you have a car. You don’t have to rely on anyone else. I’m also a messy person, so my car acts as a storage space. If I want to change my shoes in the middle of the day, I can.
What’s your favorite road trip snack?
I really like beef jerky. If we go to gas station I have to buy beef jerky.
What’s your favorite car color?
Burgundy. An average darker color. But if I had a really amazing car, an old school, super fancy car, I would definitely go for a mint green. I’ve thought about this a lot.
If you were a car, what car would you be?
Probably a beat-up VW van from the 60s.
Do you remember the first time you drove on your own?
I remember the first time I pulled out of my driveway in my grandparents' Nissan Ultimate or Centra. I just remember getting in a car that smells like my grandparents, with both my parents standing on the lawn, so petrified. That was my car up until I was 18.
What did you switch to when you were 18?
Another Nissan, which I actually still drive, which shows you how much I know about cars.
What’s the best road trip you’ve ever taken?
When I was in the Nissan, when I was 17, I piled in four of my girlfriends in my car, we drove all the way to San Francisco. When David Bowie died one of my girlfriends–were still in touch, but we’re not as close as we were then–texted me because there was this crazy part of the drive going up the 1, where it just got completely misty and all we had was Ziggy Stardust and we listened to it like a thousand times, driving up this super treacherous road. That’s my road trip memory, was being petrified and listening to “Moonage Daydream” over and over again.
What do you usually listen to when you’re driving?
So I used to listen to a lot of music in my car, but because I live in L.A., I realized with the traffic, I was getting sick of music and being in my own head. That’s when I started listening to podcasts and NPR.
Which podcasts do you listen to?
This American Life, Radiolab, and also Moth sometimes.
Do you have any favorite episodes?
There was this good This American Life one, "Three Miles", about these two schools in New York, one is a really wealthy school and one is about this poor school, and it was about this girl’s experience going to visit the wealthy school and about how flawed the education system is in our country.
Did you get into the car mix-tape game?
You know, I had a lot of friends who made CDs for me, but I don’t think I ever did. Now I probably have the most playlist I've ever had, just because of Spotify, it’s so easy. I feel like I’ve done it more recently that I did in high school. Sometimes I look at back on my playlists and I’m like, what the hell was I thinking? For example I like that really new strange Rihanna song that’s kinda reggae-y. I’ll add it to a playlist, but maybe in a month, it won't make as much sense. I don’t know if I’m the best at mixes, but I know how to make a good one for that moment.
