• by Karl Greenberg , February 9, 2007

Jeep hopes to pitch its new compact crossover vehicle to younger buyers with a promotion centered on consumer-generated content.

The effort for the $15,000 Patriot, which went on sale late in the last quarter, goes where Nissan, GM's OnStar and other brands have gone before: into the comic pages.

The Chrysler Group division has inked a deal, so to speak, with Marvel Comics, centering on development of a consumer-generated online comic strip, "The Patriot Factor."

Consumers who visit a new site, www.patriotadventure.com, can propose action and dialogue for various panels of the comic strip, says Jeep.

The company says those whose story lines are picked will get the original illustrated panel, and will be listed as author in the print version. The company also says that the first 100,000 registrants get a copy of the 28-page print version.

According to Jeep, the urban caper--involving a musician and his friends--will mirror the kind of product integration automakers have been doing in movies for the past few years: more than product placement, but less than obvious advertising.

The vehicle's features and capabilities will become plot devices to assist the heroes.