Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will begin airing two new ads for its Dodge Charger and Challenger Hellcats this weekend – even though they are sold out of the 2015 model year versions of the vehicles.
The company stopped taking orders for the 707 horsepower versions of the Challenger and Charger in March because demand far exceeded the number of vehicles the company built.
The new 90- and 30-second ads, which also feature the Dodge Viper GTS, are designed to capture the menacing aspect of the huge, growling engines and is set to the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight."
Both the 30- and 90-second "Predators" ads will run on major entertainment and sports cable networks beginning Sunday – including A&E, Bravo, Discovery, Velocity, TBS, TNT and National Geographic.
But what's the point advertising a car that cannot be purchased? Well, the automaker believes that some ads should be designed to sell cars while other ads are intended to position the brand and make consumers aware of what the brand is all about.
Olivier Francois, the automaker's chief marketing officer, as well as Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Dodge brand, have both said that the Hellcats are halo vehicles that draw attention and brand awareness to all Dodge models.
"We don't build Hellcats or Vipers for high volume, we build them as brand positioning statements," Kuniskis, said in a statement. "These vehicles may be a small percentage of our overall sales but they send a very strong message about the brand personality and attitude."
Francois said the ads for the two Hellcats drive home the idea that the entire Dodge brand, "is America's mainstream performance brand."
Source
Detroit Free Press