Paramount Pictures and Dodge have collaborated in an unprecedented partnership to market the 2014 Dodge Durango and the Dec. 20 release of the movie “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”
Oct. 5 was the first day the impressive campaign starring Will Ferrell in character as Ron Burgundy aired. This is the first time an auto manufacturer has teamed up with a movie house to promote both a vehicle and an upcoming film, while not only using a star from a movie, but having him in character. The Anchorman/Durango blitz will span digital media, print, social media and television. America will have to wait until December for the national release of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” but don’t fret, the 2014 Dodge Durango drives into dealerships later this month.
Oliver Francois, chief marketing officer of Chrysler Group LLC, said, “The Dodge brand’s irreverent tone and attitude make Ron Burgundy the perfect pitchman for the new 2014 Dodge Durango.”
Said Josh Greenstein, CMO of Paramount: “This campaign was an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate with our filmmakers to create new original content and distribute it worldwide in advance of the long awaited ‘Anchorman’ sequel release this December. With the personal involvement of Will Ferrell, our writer/director Adam McKay, the comedy team at Funny or Die, and the Dodge creative team at Wieden+Kennedy, we were able to create a truly epic partnership.”
Director Jake Szymanski situated the Durango and Ron Burgundy in a vibrant and classy auto showroom, a great atmosphere for the leading anchor to flex his creative muscles and show off his automotive knowledge which makes scripts unnecessary. He truly shows us how advanced and enjoyable an SUV the 2014 Dodge Durango is, with his 1970s way of seeing things.
Some of my favorite spots from this campaign are:
“It Comes Standard.” His lively description of the new Durango’s glove box really tells a fantastic tale about this amazing standard feature. “Comfortably fits 2 turkey sandwiches, 6 ball-peen hammers, or 70 packs of gum … 20 rulers!”
“Elegance in Driving.” A couple of ballroom dancers are beautifully dancing in the showroom. When Ron Burgundy sees them, he says things such as: “Get out of here, you dumb dancers! I’ve told them a hundred times they can’t dance in here!”
Not only are there many more TV commercial spots to enjoy, there also are social media initiatives including Instagram video clips, Ron Burgundy Twitter takeovers, animated gifs and memes on a tumblr page, a Pinterest board dedicated to Ron Burgundy, and continuing posts on the Dodge Brand Facebook page.
The 2014 Dodge Durango still has its tried and true features but uses top of the line technology to augment its capability and design. This vehicle sports a new programmable instrument cluster, new improved fuel performance and economy, two new interior touch screens, new LED exterior lighting, and standard eight-speed automatic transmission. Also offered is a high-definition dual-screen Blu-ray entertainment system.
