Dodge teams up with "Anchorman's" Ron Burgundy to sell new Durango

Dodge teams up with ‘Anchorman’s’ Ron Burgundy to sell new Durango

By David Undercoffler

Oct. 7, 2013 10:15 AM PT

Don’t act like you’re not impressed.

Dodge over the weekend debuted a new ad campaign for its Durango SUV. Four spots feature comedian Will Ferrell playing Ron Burgundy from the 2004 film “Anchorman.”

Ferrell will reprise the role in Paramount Pictures’ “Anchorman 2,” which opens this December. Meanwhile, the recently refreshed Dodge Durango will go on sale later this month.

The ads (two of which have 30- and 60-second versions) started running Saturday, with more to debut in coming weeks, Dodge said. The entire run is available here.

The goal of the cross-promotional campaign is show off the new Durango “in a completely unexpected approach that is fresh, funny and culturally provocative to our audiences,” Olivier François, chief marketing officer of Chrysler Group, said in a statement.

In the ads, Ferrell’s Burgundy character extolls some expected and unexpected highlights of the Durango. In one, he mocks a horse for having only a single horsepower when the Durango has up to 360. In another he yells at the viewer about how many packs of gum can fit in the glovebox.

The spots were created by Ferrell and his writing and directing partner, Adam McKay, who directed both “Anchorman” films, as well as writers from the comedy website FunnyOrDie.com and ad firm Wieden and Kennedy.

The spots were directed by Jake Szymanski, who’s done similar work for Funny or Die and “Saturday Night Live.”

“This campaign was an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate with our filmmakers to create new, original content and distribute it worldwide in advance of the long-awaited ‘Anchorman’ sequel release this December,” said Josh Greenstein, CMO of Paramount Pictures.

Dodge introduced this generation of Durango in 2011. The latest update for the 2014 model year adds a new eight-speed automatic transmission for better fuel economy, as well as interior and exterior updates. The full-size SUV comes with either a 290-horsepower V-6 or an optional 360-horsepower Hemi V-8.

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