Dive Brief:
- A new campaign for the Jeep Renegade launched yesterday takes what the carmaker described as a "music-centric" approach to highlight up-and-coming women artists, per a company press release. Called "Release Your Renegade" and created with the agency DDB Chicago, the effort ties together TV, digital and social media marketing channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- Breakthrough recording artist Halsey and her new single "Bad at Love" are the centerpiece of Release Your Renegade, with a 30-second spot as well as a 60-second behind-the-scenes video that Jeep is promoting across its digital and social pages. The campaign also features 30-second videos showcasing three other musicians — Molly Kate Kestner, Uri Grey and Chloe Nixon — that will be shared on social by the Jeep brand and the performers.
- "The campaign's unique approach not only celebrates each performer individually but does so using a double exposure creative technique that integrates the Jeep Renegade into the image in a way that captures both the spirit of the artists and vehicle," Olivier Francois, marketing chief at Jeep parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Jeep's campaign serves as another example of an automaker actively appealing to younger demographics — all of the artists featured are millennial-aged — as that same group is buying cars less frequently despite gaining more purchasing clout. Honda has enacted a similar strategy with its recent campaigns, including one for the 2018 Fit Sport model launched last month and a social-first video push around its Clarity Electric Sedan.
Release Your Renegade, however, distinguishes itself by focusing on women artists, specifically. Much of auto advertising, especially for trucks and sport utility vehicles, tends to lean into the masculine side of things or otherwise focus on performance specs and features. Putting the spotlight on Halsey and other fledgling female musicians, on top of potentially drawing the interest of their fans, points to the way some brands are expanding the horizons of who they market to.
A strong focus on social media channels, in particular, also fits into other recent marketing from Jeep. Earlier this year, it released a custom branded Snapchat lens that allowed the app's users to simulate driving an open-air Jeep Wrangler. DDB Chicago, which helped craft the latest campaign, was named Jeep's agency-of-record last year in March.
