The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of the year, played before the year’s biggest television audience who tune in to catch the big plays and bigger commercials.
When it comes to being part of the big game telecast, the brands of FCA US haven’t sat on the sidelines since 2011. Through the years, the company has aired commercials with some all-pro representatives from radio, film and the music industry.
It all began back in 2011 when Chrysler brand aired its ground-breaking “Born of Fire” ad. The nearly two-minute video featured Eminem and the haunting guitar riffs from the rapper’s “Lose Yourself” song, with a message that announced to the world that world-class automobiles are made in America and “Imported from Detroit.”
A scene from the “Born of Fire” Super Bowl ad.
William Gelner, executive creative director at 180 LA, stated in Forbes that the commercial set the “social web ablaze” and “it gave the brand, the city and many Americans a renewed sense of pride and hope.”
That ad was followed up in 2012 by “Halftime in America,” a commercial that featured Clint Eastwood discussing the challenges facing the country and the automotive industry, but also about the ability for both to mount a comeback.
A scene from the “It’s Halftime In America” Super Bowl ad.
“This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do, the world is going to hear the roar of our engines,” Eastwood said.
The Jeep brand also had a two-minute spot, “Whole Again,” during the 2012 telecast. It featured a heartfelt letter, read by Oprah Winfrey, from the Jeep brand and the American people to the service men and women of the six branches of the armed forces.
In 2013, the company returned to the Super Bowl telecast with another memorable ad that featured photographs of American farm life set to Paul Harvey reading “So God Made a Farmer.”
A scene from the Ram “Farmer” Super Bowl ad.
Chrysler returned to the Super Bowl in 2014 with a two-minute commercial that exuded “American pride,” the country’s love affair with the road and cars made in Detroit in the “America’s Import” ad featuring Bob Dylan. In the commercial Dylan states, “Detroit made cars. And cars made America.”
A scene from “America’s Import” Super Bowl ad.
The 2014 telecast also featured the 90-second spot titled “Strike” from Maserati during the first quarter of the football game.
Commercials shown during the 2015 Super Bowl focused on humor.
Fiat had a one-minute commercial “The Fiat 500X Blue Pill,” which introduced the 2016 Fiat 500X crossover during the big game.
“The Fiat 500X Blue Pill” Super Bowl ad introduced the 2016 Fiat 500X.
Dodge also got into the fun with the 60-second “Wisdom” ad, which celebrated the brand’s first 100 years with centenarians who gave sage, truthful and whimsical tips on how to live life.
The “Wisdom” Super Bowl ad helped commemorate the Dodge brand’s first 100 years.
“FCA US always strives to do something different, something unexpected, yet with a purpose for the largest television audience of the year,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, FCA – Global, following the Super Bowl last year.
What does FCA US have planned for the broadcast of Super Bowl 50? Tune in after the halftime performance with Coldplay (before start of third quarter) to see the first spot. A second spot will debut during the first commercial break in the fourth quarter.
