The folks at Dodge have rolled out two new badass commercials – both of which focus on the Challenger SRT Hellcat in very different ways.
FCA is positioning Dodge as a high performance brand, so as vehicles like the Dart and the Caravan leave the lineup, we will see more marketing attention paid to the vehicles remaining in the high performance lineup. Namely, the Charger, Challenger and Durango currently appear to be the future of the Dodge brand, so it comes as no surprise that this Hemi-powered trio is the focus of the first new Dodge commercial.
Dodge “Warning!!”
The first new commercial from Dodge is a one-minute spot titled “Warning!!”
This commercial begins with the word Warning blinking across the screen as the hazard lights of a new Dodge Challenger flash in the background. After a few seconds, a narrator begins reading a humorous warning message to those folks who ride in or drive a new Dodge product. The reading goes on for some 50 seconds as the camera slowly pans out, the Challenger four-ways flashing in the background.
The hazards stop, the headlights of a Challenger are joined by the taillights of a Charger and Durango, and an explosion of fire lights up each of the three Hemi-powered Dodge vehicles.
The video ends with Metallica’s “Fuel” and the new tagline – “Domestic. Not Domesticated.”
Unleashed: Challenger SRT Hellcat Episode One
The second new video from Dodge is an 80-second spot titled “Unleashed: Challenger SRT Hellcat Episode One”. This longer video features a military style group of gentleman moving around a big, mean robotic cat around in a Jurassic Park style cage. This menacing robot is, of course, the animal embodiment of a Hellcat.
The group of military men move the Hellcat’s cage to what appears to be downtown Detroit and after a finish line has been painted on the road, the cage is opened, the Hellcat is released, it roars the tone of the Hellcat Hemi revving and it instinctively begins racing down the road. As it blasts down the road, the metal claws dig at the road and as the beast picks up speed, it turns into a Hellcat Challenger.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.