Tag: Jeep

USA TODAY Ad Meter Time Capsule: Looking back at the perfectly timed ‘Groundhog Day’ ad from Jeep

Sometimes, it’s all about timing, and Jeep had that back in 2020 with Bill Murray and Punxsutawney Phil.

It’s Groundhog Day– but in 2020, this yearly event took place on a date that turned out to anything but the norm. Recognizing that, Jeep hit it out of the park.

The automobile company realized that in a rare feat, kind of like getting ahold of legendary comedian Bill Murray, the holiday fell on Super Bowl Sunday. It was the first time in 54 years that was slated to happen.

Then came the most difficult part: Signing Murray up to appear in what went down as Admeter’s top commercial of that year’s Super Bowl.

Murray has long been known as a difficult person to contact, let alone to convince him to appear in his first national commercial on the idea reprises his role as Phil Connors the 1993 film “Groundhog Day.”

As Ad Meter’s Tom Schad explained after the fact, Murray did not have a phone, agent, or email account. But after meeting the challenge, Jeep ended up winning their first Ad Meter title for the brand.

(Register now to become a 2022 Ad Meter panelist)

The Murray-groundhog collab for Jeep edged out Hyundai’s popular Boston-themed ad “Smaht Pahk,” ad for the crown. That commercial featured Rachel Dratch, Chris Evans, John Krasinski and now Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz.

The advertisement for the automobile company had to goal of unveiling Jeep’s new “Gladiator” truck line.

And lucky enough for Jeep, a cherry on top: Murray confirmed himself via news release it will be his first and last commercial he’ll ever star in. An all-around winning day for the brand at that Super Bowl.

Have another look at the extended version of Jeep’s winning commercial below:

More Super Bowl 56 commercial news:

Nissan teases ‘thrill’ in upcoming 2022 Super Bowl commercial

Uber Eats teases Super Bowl 56 commercial with help from Jennifer Coolidge, Trevor Noah and Gwyneth Paltrow

Budweiser’s Clydesdale Super Bowl ad takes on heavy emotional lift: ‘Only Budweiser can tell it this way’

Super Bowl Commercial Roundup: Vroom, Sam’s Club, Doritos Flamin’ Hot, Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda go live

Hassan Whiteside has a custom Jeep called ‘Big Shirley’ that cost $330K to build

The Utah roads belong to Big Shirley…and so do the state’s gas stations.

If you happen to spot a six-wheeled, decked-out Jeep roaming the streets of Salt Lake City like the apocalypse is near, don’t worry. It’s just Utah Jazz center Hassan Whiteside heading to work.

Whiteside gave Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune the full tour of his custom ride, which the 32-year-old named “Big Shirley”, and it really is something else. After spending nearly $330,000 on his creation, the result was a machine tough enough to make winter in the mountains a mere inconvenience at best.

Not that Whiteside knew he’d be living there when his project began in 2019 as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. Two years, a lot of money and 9,000 miles on the odometer later, Big Shirley can’t be stopped—as long as it doesn’t need to refuel.

Whiteside said just driving from his home to the arena for practice and games would burn up a full tank of gas. He had to add an additional fuel tank just to get the capacity up to 34 gallons.

Per Larsen:

“It was created by, in Whiteside’s words, “a mixture of a bunch of crazy people that did a great job.” Whiteside said four car modding shops worked on different aspects of the project, among them SoFloJeeps and Apocalypse Manufacturing in Florida. America’s Most Wanted put a Hellcat engine into the 6×6.

“…The all-new Hellcat engine can put out 900 horsepower, Whiteside says — but also has two cooling mods added under the hood. Six massive 40-inch tires touch the pavement, along with a Dana 80 axle up front. Stabilizer bars have been added on either side, and obviously, the suspension system has been upgraded.”

He also had the driver’s seat lowered as far as it could go so the seven-footer could, you know, actually fit inside.

And the whole thing only took about 1,800 hours of labor to complete.

As for the reason he named it “Big Shirley”, well, it’s best to hear Whiteside explain it:

“You know…She’s big and good-lookin’. Like a country mama.” the veteran told Larsen.

Well that clears things up.

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The top 5 Super Bowl LIV ads, according to Ad Meter

Super Bowl LIV is in the books, ending with a big win for the Kanas City Chiefs. Now, only one more thing remains to be decided-what ad took home the top spot in USA Today’s 2020 Ad Meter rankings? More than a few ads submitted for voting this year …

Super Bowl LIV is in the books, ending with a big win for the Kanas City Chiefs. Now, only one more thing remains to be decided—what ad took home the top spot in USA Today’s 2020 Ad Meter rankings?

More than a few ads submitted for voting this year were worthy of consideration, from the thoughtful to the empowering, the funny and sad, and all those surprising spots that make Super Bowl commercials so great!

Here were the top 5 based on the Ad Meter rankings:

1. Jeep: “Groundhog Day,” 7.01

Bill Murray made his first Big Game appearance in this spot for Jeep, which took a perfectly timed Super Bowl date that fell on Groundhog Day and hit it big with a twist on the classic Murray film.

2. Hyundai: “Smaht Pahk,” 6.98

Taking the second spot this year was Hyundai’s comical back and forth with Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch, and David “Big Papi” Ortiz—who can’t believe the ‘smaht’ Remote Smart Parking Assist feature in the new Hyundai Sonata.

3. Google: “Loretta,” 6.77 

One of the most heartfelt ads this year came in at No. 3, with Google’s “Loretta” allowing the audience to to join one man’s trip down memory lane—with a little help from Google—about the love of his life.

4. Doritos: “The Cool Ranch,” 6.62

It’s Doritos coming in at fourth place in 2020. Their spot “The Cool Ranch” featured a western showdown like we’ve never seen before—thanks in part to Lil Nas X and Sam Elliott.

5. Rocket Mortgage: “Comfortable,”

 

Rocket Mortgage had its best-ever Ad Meter showing, cracking the top 5 with a spot that featured actor Jason Momoa away from the spotlight like you’ve—100 percent!—never seen him before.