On the heels of a successful Jeep campaign in the fall, comedian Iliza Shlesinger returns in a humorous sequel.
In this spot, Shlesinger (the brand’s chief family officer) shows up at a Jeep Dealership, where she throws strollers, massages customers and goes on test drives that involve off-roading and erotic ebooks.
“The logic is very simple. The first campaign worked. Eliza worked. The chemistry worked. So, instead of changing direction, we decided to build on it – same spirit, same humor, same slightly unexpected tone, but now in a setting that feels even more tangible, even more real,” said Olivier Francois, global chief marketing officer at Stellantis, during a virtual press conference. “My main concern was how do we make Grand Wagoneer not be a minivan?”
“I am a mom, and no woman wants to drive a minivan if they don’t have to,” said Shlesinger during the press conference. “So the fact that you could have a car like the Grand Wagoneer, which does feel so luxurious…I mean, I’d never used terms like towing capacity before, but this thing is just absolutely stunning.”
Working with Shlesinger has given the brand an opportunity to rewrite the script on a traditional car ad and reach women, who represent 62% of all new purchases in the U.S. and influence 85 percent of those purchases, according to Forbes.“We want this to be a lifestyle adventure brand that very much pays homage to its heritage,” said Bob Broderdorf, Jr. CEO of Jeep. “When it comes to targeting women specifically, this is a huge opportunity in the auto industry to speak to them in general.”
In last fall’s spot, Shlesinger pitched the the benefit of driving a vehicle that is large enough to comfortably have sex in, subverting the trope that car commercials should be family friendly. With a wink and a nod, it promised to have “room for the family or room to make one.” The insight for this campaign came from an article in Jalopnik that claimed the Grand Wagoneer was the best vehicle to have sex in, and referring to the car as “a rolling Ritz-Carlton.”
The latest ad continues to promote the vehicle’s spacious interior and benefits with the same irreverent sense of humor. “I absolutely love the cooler built in, because you don’t realize how many things you need to keep cold until you have the option to do so,” added Shlesinger. The ad also pushes the affordability of a vehicle with such quality, mentioning its $66,000 price tag.
The script for “The Real Deal…ership,” was written by a woman and left room for Shlesinger to improvise. And that she does, in the form of yelling at people in the showroom to buy the car and doing a spit take when she finds out the price of the car.
It was directed by Jody Hill (“Righteous Gemstones”) and was created in partnership with Chicago-based advertising agency Highdive. The campaign, which drops during March Madness, includes a :30 spot, as well as longer-form video launches across the Jeep brand’s social media channels including: YouTube Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X and TikTok.
