I’ve seen four or so versions of the Will Ferrell character Ron Burgundy hustling trucks and each time i come away thinking, “Is this a good idea, a character that is designed as dim, anti women, and condescending pushing a product?”
Yes, I know it is a comedic character, but still it strikes me it could backfire for the company. Couldn’t it?
I think those commercials are hilarious!!! Previously, I never thought much of Dodge.
Yeah, it didn’t make me want to buy a Dodge today but I did have a staring contest with eleven different horses.
I went 7-3-1.
When I thought of a Dodge truck in the past, it was as a workhorse of a truck…not a staring contest with a horse.
The standard thought is, any discussion about a product is going to generate interest, I suppose.
I guess if a lizard can sell insurance, Ron Burgundy can sell trucks…Still…
If Sam Elliot cannot get me into a Dodge, Ron Burgundy does not stand a chance.
The whole character of Ron Burgundy is based on him being a superficial phoney. Kinda like pickup truck drivers who do not have any job related or hauling reason to have a pickup truck. So yeah, it might appeal to big phonies.
This isn’t the first ad campaign Will Farrell has done in character. He did commercials for Bud Light and Old Spice as Jackie Moon.
I gotta know how you can tie! Are you still staring at it as you type?
Hey, Joe Isuzu worked, at least for while. I consider these in the same general vein.
“Gum for DAYS! Is this a gum machine? No, it’s a Durango!” and the staring contest with the horse crack me up. I say: “More”.
I agree. Stupid and annoying or not, they’re certainly attention-getting and memorable commercials, which is probably 99% of what they’re aiming at.
I know what the 2014 Durango, the Fiat Abarth and the 2014 F-150 all look like from memory, mostly because that really hot chick, Will Ferrell and Mike Rowe catch my attention (for various reasons). Can’t say the same about any of the other cars on the market.
If I were Chrysler, I’m not sure I’d want to be using a character from a movie set in the late 70’s, which may remind consumers that the late 70’s existed. I would be doing everything in my power to foster the belief than the years between, oh, 1972 and 1995 were some sort of powerful shared illusion and any Chrysler products you may have driven from that time period were, in fact, products of your fevered imagination.
They’re very funny commercials, and I actually watch each one all the way through.
Seems like the very definition of a good idea, in advertising.
There are a few of the students here that plan on dressing as the Anchorman guys for Halloween. I bet that will be interesting.
I’m a media buyer and we work with pretty much all but a handful of a certain domestic auto’s (rhymes with Bevy) dealership groups in the country. I can tell you that the dealers we work with are all pretty annoyed with these commercials - which makes me assume that they think they’ll work.
Nevermind
It will be interesting to see the final result.
I like the Ron Burgandy character and Will Ferrell in general but those commercials fall flat for me. Even a little cringe-worthy. Kinda like Will didn’t write it but just went along with it for the money. I don’t get the funny and I’m not motivated to buy a truck.
