Dodge’s “Man’s Last Stand” Campaign

In the roundup of Superbowl Ads, there were several that caught my eye, and several that fell flat (no pun intended – I loved Betty White’s tackle!).

One of the standouts (for good or bad) was the Dodge Charger campaign. Since Superbowl Sunday, I’ve seen this ad at least a dozen additional times. And every time, it both offends and intrigues me.

This is another one of those risky ad campaigns, designed to reach a specific target market – and exclude all others. There’s no ifs ands or buts about it, this campaign is for men only. Hence the extremely obvious tagline… “Man’s Last Stand.”

If nothing else, I’d have to say it’s overly simplistic, describing all the clichéd actions men have to take to make their ladies happy. For instance: “I will separate the recyclables.” Really? So tough guys don’t believe in recycling now?

Of course, Dodge isn’t the first company to try this tactic – lots of brands launch man-centric campaigns if that’s their target market (I can name several liquor brands that do just that).

Dodge apparently tried to win over both sides of the aisle by launching an alternative ad starring a female with the tagline, “We make getaway cars”. In this ad, a female in a plaid work shirt tears away in her Charger as a jilted boyfriend is throwing her stuff out their apartment window. This might be their attempt to reach the female audience, but yet again, it’s probably more likely to appeal to men.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Dodge Chargers, and as a female who happens to drive a Dodge Ram, I find the male stereotypes a tad on the insulting side. I mean, I’m as likely to drive a Charger as any guy is. But would this ad have influenced me one way or the other? Hard to say. One of the reasons I like Dodge as a brand is that they’re BOLD, in both design and concept, and this ad certainly lives up to that standard.

Check out MediaPost’s roundup of the two ads here. You can also watch the ad there, in case you happened to miss it.

Whatever side of the aisle you fall on, this ad definitely sticks with you.

So what do you think? Is this ad campaign offensive, brilliant, or both?

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