• by Karl Greenberg , December 10, 2013

Chrysler Group likes hanging out at the nexus of advertising, content and entertainment. Why not? The Ron Burgundy "Anchorman" video campaign has gotten the Durango SUV more attention than that nameplate has seen for years. Chrysler brand has gotten mileage by tapping into Detroit icons; Fiat has partnered with Pitbull, and with Charlie Sheen; Ram truck has run its own country music concert series; and Jeep is doing a content play as part of its sponsorship of 20th Century Fox film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." 

And now Chrysler Group's rock-and-road brand is taking some road trips in partnership with a quartet of NBCU-owned properties. Launching Dec. 9, the effort centers on long and short-form vignettes that feature one personality from each show, with the short-form videos (:30s) airing during the broadcast of each star's show. 

The four-month effort, “Cherokee Effect,” developed with NBCU's Client Services Group, features Sarah Hyland from USA Network's "Modern Family," Baron Davis from Esquire Network's "How I Rock It," Kyle Richards from Bravo Media's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," and E! News' co-anchor Terrence Jenkins. Each piece details their treks about town and through the country in a Cherokee. In addition to the TV spots, there are long-form videos on the campaign site, plus social media elements. The first of the vignettes is Kyle Richards' drive around Joshua Tree National Park with her husband on Monday night's episode of "Real Housewives."

In addition to hosting extended versions of the videos, including behind-the-scenes content, the site also has promotional elements and a roster of ride-and-drive programs. Jeep's blog has interviews with the talent featured in the spots.  

House says the videos were produced in collaboration with Jeep's ad team and NBCU's own creative and production teams at Bravo, USA Network, E! and Esquire. Each one of the shows' stars featured in the videos also had a hand in how each of the vignettes were crafted based on the adventures they were trying to pursue, per House. "We knew we needed to amplify our communication and messaging so we chose a combination of network programming and talent that aligned with our target audience and the opportunity for brand reach." 

There is also a social media component, "which gives us a chance to expose our social media fans to the story. The NBCU family of networks are doing the same thing."

Jeep kicked off the Cherokee "Built Free" campaign at the end of October with a 60-second TV spot touting. The vehicle sold briskly last month, helping boost Chrysler's sales by 16% to lead all major automakers.