Jeep revives its ‘I bought a Jeep’ ads and openly addresses customer experience problems
Jeep has revived its iconic ‘I bought a Jeep’ campaign, using the same TVCs and actors from the original campaign to send a new message about Jeep’s customer service.
The new ads admit that “for some owning a Jeep wasn’t as enjoyable as driving one”, then address the changes it has made to its customer experience.
It is the first campaign from Cummins & Partners since it was reappointed to Jeep’s creative account earlier this year.
‘I bought a Jeep’ first appeared a the beginning of the decade and continued throughout many renditions of the brand’s advertising.
Kevin Flynn, managing director of Jeep Australia acknowledged that brand’s rapid growth in Australia came at the cost of customer experience.
“We’re the first to admit we grew too big, too fast. Unfortunately, in the process we left some drivers behind. That’s why we’ve made big changes to Jeep in Australia with reduced running costs, improved technical support and dedicated customer care. We’ve listened, we’ve changed, and there’s no turning back,” Flynn said.
The campaign also introduces the new brand platform ‘I’m In’, which Cummins & Partners chief creative officer, Sean Cummins, said is what he’d like customers to say about the brand.
“Our audience thrives on challenges and loves overcoming adversity. They say ‘I’m in’ to every opportunity. And that’s what we want customers to say about Jeep. We need to show the proof and give Australians permission to buy Jeep again. This is the first step towards regaining trust,” Cummins said.
Cummins & Partners creative director, Chris Ellis, said the campaign was a ‘reset’ for Australian Jeep customers.
“There’s powerful equity in ‘I Bought A Jeep’ – it entered the Aussie vernacular. Before launching exciting new vehicles, we needed a reset moment to acknowledge the past and let Australia know Jeep is changing for the better.
“To do that, we delved into the archives of this iconic Jeep campaign and changed the commercials themselves. It’s an arresting and novel way to communicate this transformation, and transition to the wider campaign. It wasn’t without challenges, like locating the original talent. Thankfully, they’d held up pretty well. Special effects took care of the rest,” Ellis said.
Tom Noble, Jeep Australia director of marketing communications, added: “This is an exciting time for Jeep in Australia, but before we reposition the brand, we first have to acknowledge the bigger commitment we’re making to customers and address the barriers to purchase directly in our marketing, as we have done across the business. Our challenge to the agency was to deliver this first message in an engaging way.”
The three TVCs are launching the campaign, which will then appear across digital, social media and press.
Earlier renditions of the ads can be seen here:
Credits
Client: FCA Australia.
Managing Director: Kevin Flynn
Director of Marketing: Tom Noble
Senior Marketing Manager: Rachel Semmens
Creative Agency: Cummins & Partners
Chief Creative Officer: Sean Cummins
Creative Director: Chris Ellis
Creative Director: Heath Collins
Associate Creative Director: Adam Slater
Senior Art Director: Cam McMillan
Senior Copywriter: Liam Jenkins
Group Account Director: Josh Collins
Account Director: Kara Brumfit
Chief Executive Officer: Chris Jeffares
Strategy Director: Brad Hill
Head of Television: Karley Cameron
Production Company: Finch
Director: Jae Morrison
Executive Producer: Corey Esse
Producer: Marge McInnes
DOP: Tim Tregoning
Editor: Johanna Scott | Arc Edit
Flame Artist: Drew Downes | Atticus
Sound: Dylan Stephens | Risk
Media: Starcom
Digital & Social: Digitas and Nicebike
Great to see a brand acknowledge its past challenges – as a 2 x Jeep owner I’ve never had any issues and love my GC. This is a great campaign. Well done Jeep and Cummins & Partners
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Addressing the service they provide is nice for marketing, but it does nothing to address the fact the product is the ultimate problem.
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“I bought a Jeep” is still one of the best lines in the biz. Glad to see it’s been given a new life, and a refreshing bit of honestly.
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Why would you reinstate the idea that turned the car into a joke. This is very bad advertising.
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So your Jeep breaks down. Don’t worry – you can now talk to someone at Jeep about it. That doesn’t solve the fact that I bought a Lemon. How about they offer the consumer some over and above warranty opportunities
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Going down like the leadest of balloons
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As a newer Jeep owner of almost 2 years now, I was surprised to receive this “I’m In” email from Kevin Flynn. For me it highlighted a problem I didn’t even know I had.
The campaign did cause me to reflect on the relatively lackluster post-purchase experience I’ve had compared to my other cars. And while I suppose I can now see the issues that need to be addressed by Jeep, I question the wisdom of highlighting them so publicly to Jeep owners.
Kevin’s email in particular was so agency over-written that I found his cocky humble-braggy “sorry-not-sorry” tone both off-putting and off-brand. That said, I genuinely love my Jeep so no amount of bad advertising or communications will put me off that.
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