MOVIES NEWS

Dodge Partners with Paramount to Create Durango Ads Starring Ron Burgundy

ByMonique Jones

Oct 8, 2013

Ron Burgundy is now bringing his news anchor charm to the Dodge by partnering with the company as the spokesman for the new 2014 Dodge Durango.

The Dodge brand and Paramount Pictures have launched a multifaceted advertising and marketing campaign in advance of the holiday release of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” In the commercials, Will Ferrell reprises his funny character Ron Burgundy in a cool campaign which debuted Saturday, Oct. 5. The integrated cross-promotion marketing camapaign marks the first time a movie studio and brand-tie in has used an actor in character to create original short and long form content. The campaign will incorporate print, television, digital and social media.

The commercials and online content, directed by Jake Szymanski, features our favorite anchorman in a colorful, brightly-lit showroom promoting the new car. Of course, Ron Burgundy doesn’t need a script or prompts to promote the vehicle; he uses his unique take on the news to sell the vehicle in his own entertaining way.

The upcoming commercials and web video include:

  • “Horsepower”: Ron Burgundy chastises a horse on the showroom floor regarding Dodge Durango’s 360 horsepower telling viewers, “On my right is the new Dodge Durango with up to 360 horsepower. On my left is one horse (points to horse). With one horse power. That makes you feel pretty dumb, doesn’t it?”
  • “Glove Compartment”: Ron deflects speaking to Dodge Durango’s available Hemi V8 engine and instead compliments the luxuriousness/spaciousness of its “beautiful injection-molded thermoplastic olefin” glove box, letting viewers in on the fact that “it comfortably fits two turkey sandwiches or 70 packs of gum!”
  • “Ride”: Ron stumbles over his script noting the Dodge Durango’s m.p.g fuel performance. Given Ron’s propensity to read everything as written, he can’t figure out what m.p.g is, trying several times to get it right. “emm..pah..gahs? What? mup-ah-gahs? Imp-a-gahs? I’m saying it right…but it just doesn’t sound familiar.”
  • “Ballroom Dancers”: This two-part spot (a .60- and .30-spot) will debut on “Dancing with the Stars” on Monday, October 7. In the .60-second spot, Ron walks alongside the vehicle with ballroom music playing in background, noting its “power, precision, elegance, grace in form, truth in function” when a couple dancing glides upon the scene. Ron loses his temper and chases them off, yelling, “Hey, get out of here you dumb dancers! I told them 100 times they can’t dance in here.” He apologizes, asks them to come back, where upon he proceeds to only go after them a second time. In the 30-second spot, the couple sneaks onto thequiet floor presuming it’s safe to once again begin to dance. Ron suddenly leaps out from the back seat of the Dodge Durango, in full pursuit of them.

    • More spots will be released in the coming weeks, all of which can be viewed on the Dodge Brand’s YouTube channel as well as Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy’s comedy website FunnyorDie.com. TV spots will air on television stations including ESPN, Comedy Channel, E! Entertainment Television, FX, Esquire Network, MLB Network, MTV, NBA, NBC Sports, Spike, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, USA Network, Animal Planet, Adult Swim, Food Network, Nick at Nite, Science Channel, Big Ten Network, and AMC and others. Video content will also be released on Dodge’s official Facebook page and through Ron Burgundy Twitter Takeovers, Instagram video clips, a tumblr page featuring animated GIFS and memes, and a Pinterest board for Ron Burgundy featuring videos and content. Print placement will begin in November.

    Three of the folks behind the campaign, Olivier François, chief marketing officer of Chrysler Group LLC and Josh Greenstein, CMO of Paramount Pictures and Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO, Dodge Brand talked more about the campaign.

    “The Dodge brand’s irreverent tone and attitude make Ron Burgundy the perfect pitchman for the new 2014 Dodge Durango,” said François. “By joining forces with Paramount Pictures, ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ and Will Ferrell, we’re able to show the new 2014 Dodge Durango and its cutting edge technology in a completely unexpected approach that is fresh, funny and culturally provocative to our audiences.”

    “Ron Burgundy as the new Dodge Durango spokesperson brings together two iconic American legends,” said Greenstein. “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.”

    “Just as Ron Burgundy is kind of a big deal, the 2014 Dodge Durango also stands out in a crowd with its combination of best-in-class power, towing, and fuel economy, in addition to its class exclusive technology,” said Kuniskis. “The Dodge brand’s partnership with Paramount Pictures and ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ aligns perfectly with our consumers’ sensibilities.”

    “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” comes to theaters Dec. 20.

    Dodge-Durango-Burgundy

    By Monique Jones

    Monique Jones blogs about race and culture in entertainment, particularly movies and television. You can read her articles at Racialicious, and her new site, COLOR . You can also listen to her new podcast, What would Monique Say.

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