Stellantis buys Super Bowl ads for Jeep and Ram

Stellantis is headed back to the Super Bowl after taking last year off. The automaker on Monday confirmed it will run two 60-second commercials in Sunday’s game on Fox — a Jeep ad in the second quarter and a Ram ad in the fourth quarter.

Stellantis last appeared in the 2021 game when it ran a Jeep ad featuring Bruce Springsteen. That spot, called “The Middle” and from the agency Doner, sought to take a unifying tone. It was set in Lebanon, Kansas, described as the “exact center of the lower 48” with the geographic center of America used as a metaphor for the political middle ground.

Stellantis declined to confirm the agencies handling this year’s ads.

​​​​​​​Chicago-based Highdive is expected to handle the Jeep ad. The agency handled Jeep’s “Groundhog Day” Super Bowl ad in 2020 that starred Bill Murray reprising his role as meteorologist Phil Connors from the 1993 comedy classic of the same name. The ad won USA Today’s Ad Meter.

Stellantis is the third automaker to confirm an ad buy in the game, following Kia and General Motors, which will each air one spot.

Barring any last-minute surprises, that means three automakers will run a total of four ads this year, down from last year’s game when GM, Nissan, Kia, BMW, Toyota and EV startup Polestar all ran ads. The decrease comes as auto brands scrutinize their ad budgets in the face of higher interest rates and softening demand.