Anyone overhearing Ram‘s Super Bowl ad from another room might confuse it with a run-of-the-mill male enhancement pitch.
Ram’s spot, however, is about providing a different kind of spark. The truck brand is taking on range anxiety ahead of the 2024 launch of its electric pickup that will be known as the 1500 REV.
The innuendo-packed commercial planned for the fourth quarter is one of two from Stellantis after the company sat out last year’s Super Bowl. Jeep is also using Sunday’s game to spread the word about its electric ambitions. It’s the first time Jeep created a Super Bowl spot to be deployed at a global level, the company said.
Stellantis is expected to be joined by only a few other automakers. General Motors is promoting its transition to EVs, while Kia is touting a new off-road version of its gasoline-powered Telluride crossover.
Ram’s 60-second commercial provides the first glimpse of the production version of the 1500 REV and explores “premature electrification,” which it said could be afflicting people in the market for EVs. A voiceover from Jason Jones, a comedian and former correspondent on “The Daily Show,” said one of the symptoms is “fearing you might not be able to last as long as you’d like.”
“We think that our approach will certainly cut through the proverbial clutter,” Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. told Automotive News. “It’s OK to have a personality. It’s OK to have a little bit of fun and also address some concerns that are out there.”
The playful tone is a departure from the more serious themes of past Ram Super Bowl spots, such as the Paul Harvey-narrated “Farmer” or “Built to Serve,” an uplifting ad that used an excerpt from a Martin Luther King Jr. sermon.
Ram is leveraging the Super Bowl’s massive audience to jump-start reservations for the 1500 REV via RamRev.com. The REV campaign is part of a steady drumbeat of EV and tech news to be rolled out in the months ahead.
Koval said Ram’s core values center on family, community, integrity and hard work. While the brand is defined by those things, Koval said the Super Bowl stage gave Ram some latitude to try something different.
Jeep’s 60-second spot planned to air shortly before halftime presents the brand as a friend of nature, with animals dancing to a remixed version of “Electric Boogie.” The song from Jamaican Reggae singer Marcia Griffiths inspired the popular “electric slide” line dance, and Jeep’s ad invites fans to join the “electric slide” movement on TikTok.
The remix, created specifically for the Jeep campaign, is available on streaming services Sunday. Jeep brought Griffiths together with Jamaican reggae artist and producer Shaggy for the new track, which also has performances by three up-and-coming artists: Amber Lee, Jamila Falak and Moyann.
Stellantis Marketing Chief Olivier Francois said the Ram and Jeep ads hit his four criteria of effective marketing: impact, relevance, meaning and being brand-centric.
The proliferation of pharmaceutical ads in the U.S. checked the relevance box and made Ram’s idea work, said Francois, who noted that it wasn’t suited for Europe due to tighter advertising guidelines.
The Jeep ad hits the same tenets, Francois said, as the brand’s successful 2020 spot with actor Bill Murray reprising his role from the movie Groundhog Day.
Francois said Jeep took a well-known piece of pop culture and put a spin on it, much like Jeep did with Groundhog Day. He noted that Jeep paid respect to the original stars by including Murray and Griffiths, who was filmed performing her reworked song for a video Jeep and Shaggy planned to share on social media this week.
Francois believes the song’s latest variation can connect with a vast crowd.
“That’s the beauty of choosing that song, especially in the U.S.,” Francois told Automotive News. “It goes across all generations. Everyone will relate. Whoever has been in a wedding is familiar with the song and with the dance. The purpose is not incredibly targeted. … It’s an awareness play.”