When we saw the release about Vin Diesel being brought in by Chrysler to head their “Brotherhood of Muscle” ad campaign we kind of cringed. Between the name and the whole announcement it seemed like something that would make us slowly shake our heads in disapproval. Then we saw the ads and realized that not only was Diesel the right guy to provide the creative direction on this project and then execute actually making the ads, this is the literal anthesis of Lincoln’s insane ad campaign that uses Matthew McConaughey experiencing multiple personality disorder episodes as he talks nonsense quietly in a Lincoln. The Dodge ads have the same format. Show car, show celebrity, listen to celebrity say something. In the case of the Dodge ads, the cars also talk and they scream, “HOLY SHIT THIS IS AWESOME!” In the Lincoln ad, you expect for the car to drive off a cliff at any moment.
We’re not sure on Dodge’s long term strategy but we do know the short term one is pretty awesome and the reverberations from it will last for decades. The more hemi engines come out of the factory in cars the more that will end up in the wrecking yards and the more than hot rodders will be able to play with and mess around with as well. Dodge has clearly pushed the chips into the middle of the table with muscle cars and while the fuel is cheap, why the hell not? Demon, Hellcat, Trackhawk, the SRT Durango, and all the rest of the models are designed to GO and GO HARD.
We are a bit confused and actually intrigued about the appearance of a blacked out Dodge Journey in the first ad you will see. Are they doing something to that mom wagon that we don’t know about it? Was this just a feeble attempt to let people know that the car is still actually in production? If they make a fast version of that car everyone will be flabbergasted. We think they just needed something else to jam into the ad for a second and there it was.
Anyway, kudos to Dodge. They are “on message” these days and that message is tire smoke and horsepower.
The perfect Chrysler ad would be Jim Carey playing Matthew McConaughey while flicking boogers at the windshield… crashing through the door of the old W.P. Chrysler museum shouting the Henry Ford quote ” History is bunk”!!! 🙂
I’m cool with performance cars, and having either owned, or my brother or mom an dad having owned everything from 300 Chryslers, to max wedges, 990 cars, pro stock hemi Dusters, Road Runners, Superbirds, GTX’s, and factory big block Darts, I just have to wonder, does Mopar build anything regular folks would really want to drive (besides Jeeps maybe)? I look at Ford’s lineup and I see a whole bunch of great vehicles. (I don’t look at anything GM), and I see Mopar with what? Avenger? 200?
The Dodge Journey is basically it for a “regular car”.!
That’s a scary thing and I ageee with your point, Gary.
Under the dodge nameplate I think the Journey is it for the regular car, and they feel they need to include it in the commercial I guess haha. My wife actually drives a 2015 Journey, not a bad car at all we really like it but it would me hard to make it “cool” no matter how fast it was.
I think they still have the Dart, although it may be going away in a year or so.
Well I looked at ford as I have always driven ford for the last 30 years. When it comes to fun family vehicles they didn’t do it for me. The ecoboost v-6 has timing chain issues that start around 80k and it’s 2500 to replace them. My wife didn’t like the explorer, so we ended up getting her a durango. 295 hp and 25 mpg on the highway is pretty good for a SUV that size. I picked up a used charger. Way better looking than a SHO if you ask me and it’s a fun car for a family sedan. GM and ford all look like a jellybean and I wish they didn’t. Give me a ford 4 door with a 5.0 and AWD that has some styling from an old galaxy or at least some kind of style other than a new spin on the ugly old 80’s taurus. I’d buy that all day long if they make it affordable. The fusion sport is a step in the right direction, but it’s 45k and doesn’t have the room inside for a rear facing infant seat or four 6″ adults and only marginally better looking than the taurus. At least dodge is trying to inject some fun into the vehicles they build and that’s from a ford guy.
Yeah, those Lincoln ads put me to sleep. But in their defense, I think they’re targeting a different demographic.
These Dodge ads are great! They have had a few good ones lately.
I like the tag line “Domestic. Not domesticated”.
No more Darts, 200s or Avengers anymore. If you’re a Mopar guy and wanna buy a car smaller than a Charger your only choice is a Fiat now. Why…. Or..is that the reason?!
The Lincoln ads are for 80 year old blue hairs who think he’s “dreamy” and still think they have a shot at him.
I am Groot. I am Groot. I am Groot!
Vin Diesel doesnt even have a drivers license, yet he is pitching mopars. Still better than GM showcasing their cars in the background while talking to yuppies about all their awards.