An image of Eminem stares out from a framed picture in a conference room with a view of Auburn Hills, at the U. S. headquarters…
An image of Eminem stares out from a framed picture in a conference room with a view of Auburn Hills, at the U. S. headquarters of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
The message from the now-legendary “Born of Fire” Super Bowl ad, better known by the tagline “Imported from Detroit,” carries the message, “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.”
That ad, perhaps more than most, encapsulates the unique messaging and impact potential of traditional Super Bowl advertising. If you watched the 2011 game, you probably remember the ad for the Chrysler 200 even if the game itself is harder to recollect eight years on.
FCA has left its mark in the history of Super Bowl advertising for years with memorable TV spots for its cars, trucks and SUVs featuring appearances by or the voices of Clint Eastwood, Bob Dylan, Paul Harvey and even Martin Luther King Jr.
This year will be different for the automaker.
Super Bowl ads are on the menu, but they will not air on television, at least not now. Instead, FCA is embracing a changing media landscape by posting its advertising only on digital platforms (and providing the Free Press an exclusive window into some of the planning for this year’s major media campaign). The automaker launched three ads Tuesday, two Thursday and two more Friday, all on its brand and social media channels.
The company is also “hinting” at a live Twitter campaign with multiple unrelated brands, including M&M’s, that would happen during the game.
The latest ads (being released Friday) — “Roll Rams Roll” and “4th Quarter Fight” — hit both comic and more serious themes.
“Roll Rams Roll” follows a massive herd of rams (computer generated, in case you were wondering) making its way across the country toward Atlanta, the site of the big game, to a soundtrack provided by Michigan rockers Greta Van Fleet. FCA benefits from a truck brand name that it can tie to one of the two teams in the game, the Los Angeles Rams, although Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois noted that the company had been working on this before either the Rams or the New England Patriots had punched their tickets to the game. The spot, created in partnership with the Motive Group Inc. for the Ram Heavy Duty truck, is reminiscent of last year’s “Icelandic Vikings” commercial.
“4th Quarter Fight” takes the notion of the final, crucial quarter football players face in a game and connects it to the less glamorous but tough battles others experience in life.
“For most of us, the fourth quarter isn’t just 15 minutes, it’s 18 years for a single parent, five blistering, hot months for life on the farm” and much more, the narrator says. Francois said the ad, made in partnership with the Highdive agency, is the marketing team’s “little note” to Sergio Marchionne, FCA’s legendary former CEO who died last year. “I’m pretty sure that this one he would totally love it.”
Francois called this year’s Super Bowl approach an experiment.
“We want to try something, which is also part of our nature. This gutsy visionary… legacy from Sergio is still alive.
