Jeep's Last Minute Gamble

Two weeks before the Super Bowl, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CMO Olivier Francois got a phone call from Bill Murray.

Murray was responding to a handwritten letter that Francois had sent months earlier, pitching the idea of a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl opportunity with FCA, Jeep's parent company. The Big Game was to fall on Groundhog Day for the first time in over 50 years, and if he could get Murray to agree to do the ad, Francois knew the spot would be Super Bowl-worthy.

But with no response from Murray, the carmaker was planning to sit out this year's Big Game. And then, on Jan. 17, Murray called.

In addition to everything that went into shooting the spot, Chicago-based ad agency Highdive had to acquire the rights to both the movie and the Sonny and Cher song, "I Got You, Babe," in record time. And luckily, FCA landed a Super Bowl slot when Fox Sports added a floating pod (the network had sold out in November).

“I think obviously you cannot base your marketing strategy on pure luck—surely not—but clearly this is proof that dreaming a little bit [removes] the limits of what seems possible and what seems less possible,” said Francois.

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