‘It’ll Test You’: Latest Dodge Brand U.S. Hispanic Advertising Campaign Features Actor Danny Trejo

June 16, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  The Dodge brand is launching a new U.S. Hispanic advertising campaign for the 2015 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Dart featuring actor Danny Trejo (“Machete”, “From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Once Upon A Time in Mexico”).
 
The Spanish language campaign consists of three spots airing in both 30- and 60-second versions. The first spot, “El Trato” (“The Deal”), began airing June 11 and the rest will continue to roll out in the coming weeks across U.S. Hispanic media, as well as digital and social initiatives. All spots will be available on the Dodge brand YouTube channel.
 
“Danny Trejo’s tough and muscular persona make him an unexpected, yet ideal, salesman to communicate the unique personality of Dodge in this new, humorous, Spanish language campaign,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, FCA- Global. “Multicultural customers account for nearly a third of Dodge brand volume which is why it is important that we reach U.S. Hispanic auto buying consumers with relevant marketing strategies and campaigns that not only accurately depict the brand, but that also authentically capture the nuances of such an influential consumer.”
 
The campaign introduces U.S. Hispanic consumers to the 2015 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Dart, giving viewers a close-up view of the Dodge brand’s best-in-class horsepower, class-exclusive technology, unmatched capability and a slew of cool features. Trejo, who has appeared in almost 300 films, is a personality widely recognized by all moviegoers, especially U.S. Hispanics. With distinctive looks, an angry face, masculine moustache, and tattoo-covered muscular body, Trejo comes across as a strong and intimidating, yet beloved, character. In this new advertising campaign, viewers will experience Dodge, America’s mainstream performance brand, the “Trejo way” while quickly learning that ‘Te Pondrá A Prueba’ (It’ll Test You).
 
In the campaign, “consumers” who test drive their favorite Dodge vehicles are met with an unexpected and mysterious Dodge salesman (Trejo). The test drivers quickly find that Dodge and Danny will test their limits, exposing them to exhilarating adventures and situations.
 
In “El Trato” (“The Deal”), the first spot in the series, a man sits with Trejo in a dimly lit room with flickering red and blue lights over a table. The men argue as they try to settle on a set of terms. The viewer realizes they aren’t discussing a hit-man job or a plea bargain but that they are in a Dodge dealership and Trejo is a car salesman unexpectedly highlighting the exterior, interior and audio system of the 2015 Dodge Dart. Trejo seals the deal with the client, as the ad ends with the tagline ‘Te Pondrá A Prueba’ (It’ll Test You).
 
Set to air in late June, “Quemacocos” (“Sunroof”) also begins in a Dodge dealership. Trejo signals a customer to test drive the 2015 Dodge Charger. The customer comments on the performance, interior design and Uconnect features, while Trejo continuously points out the sunroof. Trejo asks the customer to stop the car in front of a warehouse and gets out of the car. After a few seconds he crashes through a second floor window, falling though the sunroof. The customer speeds off with Trejo. Impressed with the car’s power, the deal is done as the customer states he wants to purchase the Dodge Charger just before the ad ends with ‘Te Pondrá A Prueba’ (It’ll Test You).
 
The spot “¿Qué hay en la cajuela?” (“What’s in the trunk?”) starts in a Dodge dealership lot, with a customer sitting in the front seat of a 2015 Dodge Challenger. The man loading items into the trunk turns out to be Trejo. As the duo begins their test drive, loud thumping is heard from the trunk. Trejo tries to cover the noise by raising the volume of the BeatsAudio sound system. Excited at the clarity and sound of the music, the customer declares he wants to purchase the car — just before it is revealed that Trejo has golf clubs and a bowling ball in the trunk, proving that the Challenger is fast and spacious. The ad ends with ‘Te Pondrá A Prueba’ (It’ll Test You).
 
“The Dodge brand consumer is the youngest in the industry with aggressive and athletic style as well as a passion for high performance and advanced technology,” said Juan Torres, Head of Multicultural Advertising, FCA US LLC. “Representing a substantial segment of the of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Dart target audience, an estimated 21 percent of the millennials in the U.S. are Hispanic, and that percentage is expected to grow to 23 percent by 2020^[1]. To develop a unique campaign that would resonate with such an influential buyer, we sought both humor and a spokesperson that embodies the best-in-class features and performance of the brand.”
                                                                                                                
In an effort to reach tech-savvy millennials, Dodge has developed an original digital component to support the broadcast campaign. A series of videos depict “customers” taking test drives at a Dodge dealership. To their surprise, the salesman accompanying them is Danny Trejo. Hidden cameras let viewers feel as if they are going along for the ride while each video demonstrates a specific vehicle feature, the “Trejo way”. The Spanish language videos will be distributed across the Dodge brand social networks and different online platforms.
 
The Dodge brand’s Spanish language campaign was created in partnership with Lopez Negrete Communications. FCA US LLC and Lopez Negrete Communications have partnered to produce critically-acclaimed, award-winning work for a multitude of brands, further expanding the footprint of FCA US in the U.S. Hispanic market. Most recently, the FCA US Spanish language ad “Impress” featuring the Dodge Dart garnered 2015 ADDY® Awards in gold and silver distinctions. Similarly a Chrysler 200 Spanish language ad earned a 2015 US Hispanic Idea Award in bronze distinction, as well as 2015 FICE Awards in silver and bronze. 

[1] Hispanic Millennial Project. Wave 1 Research Review: Introducing Hispanic Millennials. April 2014
 
About Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo has had a prolific career in the entertainment industry. His road to success has been hard earned and anything but typical from imprisonment to helping young people battle drug addiction, to acting and producing. Trejo has starred in dozens of films including “Desperado”, “Heat”, the “From Dusk Till Dawn” film, “Con Air”, “Once Upon A Time In Mexico”, the “Spy Kids” movies, “Grindhouse”, “Machete”, “Machete Kills”, “Dead In Tombstone”, and “Muppets Most Wanted”. Danny’s recent television work includes his first series regular role on the FX show “Saint George”, as well as an appearance on “NCIS: Los Angeles”. He has had recurring roles on “Sons of Anarchy” and “King of the Hill”, and has appeared on episodes of “Franklin and Bash”, “Bones”, “Modern Family”, and “Breaking Bad”. Trejo also lent his voice to producer Guillermo Del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez for the Golden Globe nominated animated film “The Book Of Life” as the character Skeleton Luis. He can currently be seen in the Super Clio Award winning Snickers commercial where he plays the blonde high school student, Marcia Brady. Most recently, Trejo reunited with Robert Rodriguez for season two of El Rey’s TV series “From Dusk Till Dawn”.
 
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments in which the brand competes while moving forward to a future that includes electrified muscle in the form of the next-generation, all-new Dodge Charger.

The next-generation Dodge Charger electrifies a legend, with the Charger retaining its title as the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car led by the all-new, all-electric 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack. The all-new Dodge Charger will also offer performance choices via multi-energy powertrain options including the 550-horsepower Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O., powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine.

Dodge also keeps its foot on the gas as a pure performance brand with the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever, and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet.

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

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