Dodge Is Undoubtedly the Domestic Brand With the Best Commercials
Dodge recently launched a 30-second commercial as part of Fiat Chrysler’s new “Big Finish” advertising campaign. While a competent bit of marketing, it falls into the trap of deploying holiday marketing immediately after Halloween.
On the surface, it has everything you’d want from a Christmas-themed car ad. Professional wrestler, former NFL player, and American icon Bill Goldberg makes an appearance as Santa while dwarves install a 6.2-liter Hemi into his sleigh. The Butt Rock comes on strong, accented by angle grinders and relentless engine revving until Santa’s new ride is completed. They even put antlers on the Hellcat logo. It’s stupid and awesome but also way too early for this.
We’re willing to forgive FCA. The automaker has been pretty good about not making commercials that make us strangle anyone of late. Frankly, that’s more than we can say about some of the other domestic nameplates.
Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.
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I admit I lol'd at Santa's Challenger. And yes, Chevy's Real People adds are terrible. 5 people I've never heard of saying "This seems kind of OK" is just not compelling.
"It’s like Dodge is the only domestic badge that still realizes that it’s supposed to be selling cars." That's because it's all Dodge has. And there all BIG and muscle-y like the Santa in the commercial. Let's sell a pick-up...Oh, well Ram's a separate division now. Let's sell a capable off-roader...Nope that's a Jeep - which has the widest array of cars in all of FCA. Let's sell some small cars...*crickets* Yes, Dodge has turned into a one-trick - We need to stuff more HP under the hood - pony And as more of a GM Fan - the "real people not actors" ads are stupid and annoying. When they first started there was at least a thin veneer plausibility around them, now they're just ridiculous. The only reason they are "real people not actors" is because they haven't gotten their SAG/AFTRA cards yet.
Ford or FCA needs to cast “Mahk” in a commercial. For those who love his take on Chevy, it would make for a commercial worth watching.
With the exception of the MLK Super Bowl ad, FCA has had the best car commercials for a long time now. I particularly appreciated the series with the portrayals of John and Horace Dodge enjoying modern-day Dodge products, I thought that was a neat idea that paid homage to the brand's roots.