Stellantis Super Bowl ad debuts Ram 1500 REV electric pickup

Suffering from “premature electrification”?

The Ram 1500 REV all-electric pickup truck debuted on Sunday in the brand's one-minute Super Bowl spot released ahead of the big game. It features some common styling cues as the futuristic Revolution concept truck the Stellantis NV brand revealed last month in Las Vegas, but also has more of a classic Ram truck look.

The advertisement will air during the first commercial break of the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl in which the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles starting at 6:30 p.m. Jeep also will air a 60-second commercial at the two-minute warning break of the second quarter before halftime.

Reservations to hold a spot in line to preorder the REV, whose pricing hasn't been shared, opened on Friday at RamREV.com. Customers have to pay $100 to become a "REV Insider+" to make a reservation. The fee is refundable until preorders begin.

Like the Revolution concept, in the ad, the REV sports tuning-fork headlights spanning from a backlit "Ram" logo on the front fascia in place of a grille. A look inside, however, shows a busier dashboard with a large instrument cluster and center infotainment system. The passenger seat, though, does have its own display, unlike in the Revolution.

Images released by Ram also show the REV doesn't have the Revolution's saloon-style doors or its smaller digital side mirrors.

In Ram’s ad, the brand casts the late 2024 launch of the REV, which comes after models from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and startup Rivian Automotive Inc., as perfect timing: "Get excited, but not too excited," the ad says in small print, noting it depicts a preproduction model.

Spoofing erectile dysfunction medication commercials, the spot stars "The Detour" actor Jason Jones and features truck owners having to take a hike after running out of range, bummed over having a truck that can’t haul a large camper and complaining about stopping constantly on road trips to charge.

Alternatively is the Ram 1500 REV, coming with options to extend range “in satisfying ways,” the brand pitches, sending customers online to make their reservation.

“We think that we will better meet customers’ needs, and we'll be able to push past what the competition has announced, again, through multiple technologies,” Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. told The Detroit News in an interview on Thursday from the Chicago Auto Show. “We think we'll have something that will better meet our customers’ needs and the attributes they care about the most, which is payload and towing, but more importantly, as we transition to the future, is more about range and charge time, as well.”

Ram hasn't divulged specifications of the production model. The 1500 REV will be built on the new STLA ("Stella") Frame all-electric architecture, which the company has said can support up to 500 miles of range.

The brand is planning a "range-electric paradigm breaker" model that would offer additional range. The Ford F-150 Lightning provides up to 320 miles of range, while the forthcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV's maximum is 400 miles.

The tech-heavy, configurable Revolution concept can add 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes with an 800-volt DC fast charger at up to 350 kilowatts, according to the brand. That's in line with the Silverado and Hummer EV.

Ironically, the Ram ad will come after the Jeep spot, which does feature already-available electrified vehicles: the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid SUVs.

"It's the right electrification at the right time," said Olivier François, Stellantis' chief marketing officer. "A hybrid is the right electrification at the right time for a UV, especially an outdoorsy UV."

Next year, the company will have a fully electric truck that meets the demands of Ram buyers, François said.

The Jeep commercial features the 4xes traveling past animated dancing elephants, grooving giraffes and other animals to a new version of the "Electric Boogie" song that spurred the "Electric Slide" line dance. The rerecording of the 1980s hit brings back the song's recording artist, Marcia Griffiths, to work with Grammy Award-winning Jamaican recording artist and producer Shaggy and three other artists: Jamila Falak, Amber Lee and Moyann.

"It's electric!" the song goes.

The tribute to the highest-selling single by a female reggae singer also was inspired by the game's halftime show featuring singer Rihanna, a native of Caribbean island Barbados.

The end of the ad prominently features a bleating goat that ends up joyriding in a Wrangler. Although the rival Ford Bronco SUV has an off-road GOAT — Goes Over Any type of Terrain — mode, executives say the creature's inclusion in the commercial isn't a clever reference to its competitor. It originally was going to be a bear, François said.

"It was a cute animal with floppy ears," Jim Morrison, head of Jeep for North America, told The News from the Chicago show. "I don't think there's any connection."

The Jeep spot is a continuation of last year's "Earth Odyssey" campaign that would have served as a Super Bowl ad in 2022, but the automaker passed because of limited vehicle inventory from a global microchip shortage and other supply-chain snags, François said. Featuring the noises of wild animals, the videos highlighted the ability to travel in near silence in the 4xe's electric mode.

The new version of the "Electric Boogie" will be available to stream and download on Sunday. Jeep is encouraging fans to show off their "Electric Slide" moves on TikTok with #Jeep4xeBoogieWoogie.

François said there were more serious options for the ads, but the brands wanted to go with the most lighthearted ones after three pandemic-struck years and as inflation and rising interest rates weigh on the economy.

"This year," François said, "we just felt that people wanted some comedic relief."

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble