Chrysler Pitches Dodge Ram as a Mach-o, Mach-o Truck
NEW YORK -- Online videos, shot to resemble a reality-show "competition," are a big part of the upcoming marketing launch for the all-new, 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.
A tagline of the macho campaign says the 2009 Dodge Ram "Never Backs Down from a Challenge." That's a good thing, because the new Dodge Ram has a big, big challenge on its hands.
In the face of high gas prices, the 2009 Dodge Ram launch a must-win for Chrysler. The Dodge Ram is the corporation's best-selling model by far, outselling the company's second-biggest seller, the Dodge Caravan minivan, by almost 2-to-1, and the next-nearest one after that, the Chrysler Town & Country minivan, by 3-to-1. Both of those product segments are hurting.
According to AutoData, the full-size pickup segment was down 24.6 percent this year to about 1.1 million, comparing the first eight months of 2008 versus the year-ago period. Dodge Ram sales were down 22.7 percent in August from the year-ago month. Year to date, Dodge Ram sales were down 29 percent, to 175,246.
That's a world of hurt, and industry sales may not improve any time soon. "We think 2009 is going to be a challenging year, as well," said Deborah Meyer, Chrysler vice president and chief marketing officer, in a Sept. 22 interview here.
Chrysler's macho marketing strategy for the Dodge Ram is aimed at hard-core pickup buyers who really need and use the functionality of a big truck, but who also appreciate creature comforts, she said. The theory is that "casual" pickup buyers are more likely to drop out of the segment than core buyers.
The so-called Dodge Ram Challenge competition involves four teams that Chrysler says are made up of actual pickup owners, doing macho things with their Dodge Ram pickups, like pulling a heavy trailer up a steep incline, Meyer said. The campaign breaks Oct. 19, but the dedicated web site is already available for previewing. U.S. dealers are starting to get the trucks this month.
There's one team each of cowboys, firemen, contractors and military. My first thought was that Chrysler was one team of fake Indian chiefs short of The Village People, although Meyer said that resemblance didn't occur to anybody at Chrysler. Now that I Googled the group, I find that The Village People had a policeman, not a fireman. And Chrysler is also missing the guy dressed all in leather.
Anyway, the refrain from one of the group's hits, "Macho Man," would be a good unofficial theme song for the campaign, since it's all about the Dodge Ram's tough-guy image. Chrysler also hired adventure-film producer Tony Scott, whose credits include 1986's "Top Gun," to direct the filming.
"He makes it really exciting. He's got helicopters filming, and he's got helicopters filming the helicopters," Meyer said.
One cost-saving measure is that the company will repurpose video from the online competition for use in TV ads. In addition, three networks in three different formats, NBC, FOX and Yahoo! will work the Dodge Ram Competition into their spots promoting their own networks, Meyer said.
Integrated, multimedia product launches are nothing new to the auto industry. Neither are long-format, online videos, directed by Hollywood producers. BMW created a series of online short films back in 2001 and 2002.
But Chrysler claims to be the first to use the format of a reality-show competition. "We are not holding back. This is our most important â€" but also our most efficient launch," Meyer said.