SUV brand Jeep's campaign 'Under the Hood' taps into hip hop music to talk about various features of the car

When it comes to selecting a vehicle, consumers are often left in the dark with features being the only differentiator between a good SUV and a great one. To bridge the gap, the 75+-year-old SUV brand Jeep, tapped into an upcoming trend in Indian music, hip hop, to create its latest campaign ‘Under the Hood’, to talk about the features that make the Jeep Compass a legend.

The digital campaign that has been conceptualised and executed by Digitas India comprises a series of seven short videos that promote unique aspects of the Jeep Compass and how it stands apart from the clutter.

Set against intriguing animations, the video rap series simplifies complex engineering concepts to entertain and educate viewers on every feature that a great SUV must have. Urging viewers to look beyond nomenclatures and labels, the series aims to create a new generation of informed customers through head-bobbing rhythm and rhymes.

Released across multiple social platforms, the music videos have garnered over 7.6 million views and still going strong.

Rahul Pansare

Commenting on the latest communication series, Rahul Pansare, Head of Marketing and PR, Jeep India, said, “The SUV category is cluttered and they all look the same. But, that’s not us. Our objective is to bring the best product to those who’re looking for the real deal. The real deal is in the performance and capability which is not visible from the outside. Jeep Compass is different from within. With this campaign, we want to define what an SUV really means. All we want is for customers to look under the hood and take an informed decision when buying an SUV.”

Mark Mcdonald

Adding his views, Mark Mcdonald, EVP and Head of Creative, Digitas India, said: “With a legendary brand like Jeep, our effort has always been to create content that’s authentic, relevant and inspires consumers to step into the Jeep lifestyle. With ‘Under The Hood’, the challenge was two-fold - create an interesting story from something that’s traditionally been a jargon-filled communication in the category; and then tell that story in a unique and interesting way. The ‘Under The Hood’ campaign managed to do both in a refreshing and engaging way. Using rap and hip-hop, one of the hottest music genres in India right now, helped take the message far beyond just auto enthusiasts to a much wider age group and audience.” 

The team behind the campaign included upcoming rap artists Illa Straight, who has performed in India and the United States and opened for global stars like Akon and Flo Rida, and, Deane Sequeira, one of India’s budding rapper, and songwriters.

Priyanka Prashar Narula, Co-Founder and Creative Producer at Isana Productions, commented, “It was one of the most exciting projects for our team at Isana. Marrying contemporary rap with edgy visuals was a thrilling experience. We had a roll shooting this one, and are greatly proud of our association with Digitas India and Jeep.”

The campaign video:

Credits:

Client: FCA India

Agency: Digitas India

Creative: Mark Mcdonald, Head of Creative, India

Gaurav Kashalkar, Senior Creative Director 

Ankit Mathur, Creative Lead, Copy 

Smit Hindocha and Vidhisha Patil, Copywriter 

Sanjay Rajpurohit, Designer

Prateek Gurbani, Associate Designer 

Client Servicing: Bharatesh Salian, Senior Vice President – West

Ofira Ashtamker, Client Services Director 

Vinay Jaiswal, Senior Account Manager

Rhia Merchant and Meeta Sachdeva, Associate – Account Management 

Planning: Sakshi Arora, Head of Strategy, India

Ramana Charan, Digital Strategist

Production House: Isana Productions Inc.

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