Jeep seeks to halt sales slide with new ads

Jeep says the dents and scratches in a vehicle can tell a story.

The brand's new commercial for the Grand Cherokee shows how these blemishes can bring back memories.

It's being launched alongside a global campaign for the Wrangler as Jeep strives to avoid a fifth consecutive year of declining U.S. sales. Jeep's 12 percent drop in the first half of 2023 is the largest decrease among the top 33 brands and contrasts with a 13 percent gain for the industry overall.

The Grand Cherokee spot, called "Dents," shows an older model of the midsize SUV being present in various chapters of a family's life, from a marriage proposal and getting a dog to riding through the woods. At each stage, the Grand Cherokee picks up scars that make the father — who now owns a 4xe plug-in hybrid version — reminisce years later before passing it down to his daughter. The ad was created in partnership with the Chicago agency Highdive.

Olivier Francois, marketing chief for Jeep parent Stellantis, said the ad's focus is building loyalty rather than conquesting buyers.

Francois said the time was right for a Grand Cherokee campaign as dealership inventory grows. He said the nameplate has logged millions of sales since 1992 and has a place in the hearts of many.

"This is an extended approach to loyalty," Francois told reporters last week. "Literally a new generation, cross-generational loyalty to the vehicle, and this will allow us to add an emotional and nostalgic level of connection with the customer."

There is a 30-second TV spot, while a 60-second version is on the brand's YouTube channel.

U.S. sales of the Grand Cherokee, the brand's top seller, were down 7 percent in the first half of this year to 124,956.

While the Grand Cherokee campaign is for U.S. consumers only, Jeep launched another ad push last week with global reach for the Wrangler.

That campaign, "Famous for Freedom," promotes the freewheeling spirit that has made the Wrangler famous. In addition to the U.S., the content will air in Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and other markets to signal the launch of the 2024 model. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Japan is the Wrangler's biggest market, according to Lucy McLellan, Jeep's senior vice president of global marketing and communications.

Several Wrangler owners are featured in the campaign.

"We wanted to align to our 'think global, act local' approach to marketing and worked with all of the major Wrangler markets around the world to ensure that the creative felt both locally relevant as well as culturally relevant," McLellan said.

There is a 30-second TV cut, while a 60-second version is on YouTube. The brand is deploying 15-second and 30-second iterations on its social channels and other websites. U.S. Wrangler sales declined 15 percent in the first half of the year to 84,642.

The campaign highlights the Wrangler's vibrant paint options while showing the various environments the versatile midsize SUV can be driven in.

The musical backdrop is "California Love," the 1990s hit from rappers Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre. Stellantis said this is the first time the song has been used in an auto commercial.

The lively song "embodies exactly the spirit of Wrangler," Francois said. "It embodies freedom, coolness and all these values. ... It's a fit for Wrangler and a fit for our international market. Everyone knows it. Nearly everyone knows it in France, everyone knows it in Germany, so why not?"