• by Karl Greenberg , January 8, 2016

Fiat Chrysler’s Dodge division has brought back the eponymous brothers for a post-New Year campaign. The pair, who founded the brand a century ago and were introduced in a centennial campaign last year, make brief appearances in two of the new ads instead of telling their story.

One of the ads, like a recent Star Wars spot, has the cars personify sinister characters, with Viper as the leader. The whole Dodge model lineup meets in the dark, and then follows the Viper down a dark road, with the idea that the cars are a wolf pack.

Another of the three spots shows a weathered old farmer watching a Challenger pull up to his house as his daughters kiss his cheek, then run down the hill and hop into the car, and drive away with the Dodge bros. The theme line for that spot is “Every man’s favorite car…until it comes for his daughters.” 

The campaign, via Wieden+Kennedy, breaks Sunday Jan. 10 during the CBS AFC Wildcard Playoff, with ads also running on NBC’s Golden game on Jan. 17. One of the ads will also air Jan. 10 during NBC’s Golden Globe Awards show. And one of the spots will live online.

Adrien Brody has directed earlier spots featuring the Dodge brothers, but this new set of ads was directed by Martin DeThurah, per Randy Ortiz, head of advertising for Dodge. “When we launched the campaign in 2014, when it was the 100th anniversary for Dodge. Since then, through all of our strategy and creative concepts we always come back to these two brothers. They were so well received, and have been fantastic for the brand in terms of generating awareness.” He adds that Dodge uses the brothers (the actors playing them)  both across social channels and at Dodge events nationwide. 

The campaign is also the first in which Dodge puts all of the vehicles together in one ad, with Viper as the halo car. “When [performance sub-brand] SRT came back under Dodge umbrella we took the opportunity to elevate the messaging around Viper,” says Ortiz. “It does what a halo is supposed to do in drawing attention and creating buzz.” Ortiz tells Marketing Daily that grouping the vehicles together in one execution gets the message across that even though the vehicles have an individual identity, they have the same DNA rooted in performance.

The performance segment has grown 20% in last five years, notes Ortiz. “Performance has created a new kind of premium because it’s quantifiable attitude, personality, and horsepower.” He says Dodge’s buyer base is eight years younger than the industry average, and, at 44, is five years younger than it was in 2011, when 13% of owners were Millennials. “Right now 30% of Dodge buyers are Millennials.” 

Dodge, like most automakers, enjoyed strong December sales from SUVs. The division reported that sales were up 6% in December compared with the same month a year ago, making it Dodge’s best December in three years.