How a CEO’s exit and a Jeep ‘comeback’ led to Stellantis being the only automaker to advertise during Super Bowl 59

DETROIT — A CEO’s exit, electric vehicles making the industry run around like “headless chickens” and a company’s U.S. revival all came together to make Ram and Jeep parent Stellantis the only automaker with a Super Bowl 59 commercial.

That’s according to Stellantis Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois, who said while other automakers abandoned this year’s big game amid industry uncertainty and cost cutting, it was critical for the embattled Transatlantic carmaker to return to the Super Bowl.

Francois said Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, a scion of Italy’s Fiat carmaker, called him after CEO Carlos Tavares’ abrupt departure in December and told him to advertise during the big game as a recommitment to the automaker’s business in the U.S.

“We were not set to make a commercial. John Elkann called me in December, saying, you know, ‘I want something. I want to make a comeback. We want to show, to express, that comeback story. We want to show America how much it is important to the Stellantis group,'” Francois told CNBC.

Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, has become well-known under Francois for symbolic, nontraditional ads that feature iconic celebrities that tell a story beyond just attempting to sell new cars and trucks.

It started when the automaker was attempting to make a comeback from its 2009 bankruptcy. It aired a surprise two-minute Super Bowl ad in 2011 featuring rapper Eminem and the city of Detroit — tying the company’s revival to the Motor City’s grit and rebirth. The ad also featured a now discontinued Chrysler sedan called the 200.

Francois said Elkann, who’s leading the search for a new CEO, told him to recapture that kind of “comeback” spirit for the automaker, following years of cost-cutting and lackluster sales in the U.S.

Elkann, Francois said, also told him to think of late-Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne when creating the automaker’s ads this year. Marchionne, who died in 2018, was a supporter of Francois and past Super Bowl ads.

“There is a kind of philosophy attached to Sergio, which is that he believed in playing like you have nothing left to lose. He used to say, ‘Mediocrity is not worth the trip,'” Francois said. “So this year’s Super Bowl creative execution and investment are very much the essence of the spirit.”

Since Eminem, the company’s Super Bowl ads have featured actors such as Clint Eastwood, Bill Murray and singer Bob Dylan, among others. Those spots haven’t necessarily prominently featured any specific vehicle, but they’ve discussed culturally relevant topics such as political divides and patriotism.

Stellantis’ Ram Trucks ad this year was a more traditional, comedic Super Bowl commercial. It starred “Twisters” and “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Glen Powell reimagining “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” with trucks.

But the automaker’s two-minute Jeep ad starring featuring “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” actor Harrison Ford was a true return to form for Francois.

Francois said Ford turned down an initial pitch for a different ad. That’s when Francois said he and friend Edward Razek, a former marketing executive for Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands who resigned amid controversy in 2019, wrote the first version of the ad that aired.

CMOs don’t typically write scripts. It’s more common for those executives to approve a script from an agency, with guidance. Francois said agencies did assist ahead of the final ad, but the script and ideas started inside the automaker.

In the ad, Ford discusses freedom, heroes and people writing their own stories in life because there is no “Owner’s Manual,” which is the title of the commercial.

As Ford opined, several Jeep models can be seen driving and off-roading, including one that passes a Ford Bronco SUV — a newer competitor to the Jeep Wrangler SUV — while the actor talks about inspiring others.

“I said ‘yes’ to doing this commercial because of the script. It’s a very straightforward communication about life and ends with getting in a Jeep vehicle, that’s the hook. It didn’t require me to reintroduce myself, point to the fact that in my life I’ve been many things and known for specific projects or roles,” Ford said in a statement. “It’s just a quiet talk from somebody sharing an idea. I love the way it developed.”

The Wrangler passing the Bronco is one of two references to the Jeep rival. The other comes from the actor at the end of the ad: “Choose what makes you happy. My friends, my family, my work make me happy. This Jeep makes me happy — even though my name is Ford. That’s my owner’s manual. Get out there, write your own.”

The Jeep ad was shot over two days with Ford in Santa Clara, California, in early December, according to Stellantis. 

Automotive has historically been one of the top segments for Super Bowl advertising. Even during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009 when the industry was hit hard, several companies such as Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Audi aired ads.

Francois believes other automakers likely didn’t participate in the Super Bowl this year because of a lack of payoff in prior years, when many automakers, including Stellantis, touted all-electric vehicles that weren’t on sale.

“In the last years, there was plenty of automakers, all of them [touting] EVs, EVs that didn’t even exist,” Francois said. “These guys are obviously running like headless chickens: EVs, EVs, EVs. I mean, that’s where we all were.”

Automakers regularly advertised during the NFL regular season and playoffs, including with sponsorships such as Toyota being the “Official Automotive Partner of the NFL.” But none, other than Stellantis, advertised during Sunday’s game.

Both of Stellantis’ Super Bowl ads this year featured electric vehicles, but they also included traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines as well as plug-in hybrid models such as the Jeep Wrangler.

Francois said it may have been a blessing that Elkann called him in early December instead of months earlier because it allowed him to be more relevant in the messaging, rather than just touting EVs.

“The moment had changed, and I was lucky enough to have the possibility to rewrite the scripts. To rewrite history, to say, to not run like a headless chicken,” Francois said. “I was able to improvise in the moment.”

Stellantis declined to disclose how much money it spent on the production or broadcast of the ads, which were selling for up to $8 million for 30 seconds of air time during Super Bowl 59.

But Francois said Elkann has told advertising and marketing leaders at Stellantis that “Marketing is no longer a cost. It is an investment.”