New TVC is the acme of targeted marketing

Repeats of Road Runner cartoons have been a staple of kids' TV in this country for literally decades. Watched by Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and even Gen Z, the 'formulaic' cartoon pitches Wile E. Coyote against his own 'white whale', the Road Runner.

Ever popular, and with a high recognition factor among the community, the eponymous bird and its nemesis now feature in a new advertising campaign to promote the Jeep brand. It's not the first time that a Chrysler brand has drawn on the promotional power of the Warner Brothers cartoon character; now-defunct Chrysler brand Plymouth named its high-performance 'intermediate' coupe the Road Runner back in the 1960s.

The Plymouth was a precedent of sorts for Ford Australia's 'Superoo' decals for the Falcon GT in the 1960s and 1970s. Holden also used the Road Runner character to promote the Barina when the nameplate was first introduced locally, back in the 1980s.

For Chrysler's new "Off-Road Runner Sale" campaign, the importer has focused principally on the Jeep brand, but online advertising based around the same theme also features retail incentives for Chrysler and Dodge as well.

All the orchestral music and hand-drawn assets for the TV commercial were created in Australia and the campaign will migrate to the print media also.

"We not only wanted to continue our popular record of producing cut-though themes for our latest Jeep campaign, we wanted something that was all-new, iconic and equally as entertaining," said Craig Bradshaw, Chrysler Australia's General Manager Marketing and Product.

The commercial went to air last night and can be downloaded from YouTube and, in addition, the company has a minisite for the campaign.

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