Groundhog Day 2020 – Jeep Gladiator

Jeep Gladiator | Super Bowl 2020 | Groundhog Day

Super Bowl ads are known for being funny, reflective of pop culture and a huge success. Car manufacturers use the opportunity of a mass captive audience to advertise their latest cars.

Super Bowl 2020 saw Jeep take center stage with a Groundhog Day themed advert for their new bakkie, the Gladiator.  The significance of this is that 02 February is Groundhog Day in the USA, and it fell on Super Bowl Sunday, the second time in 54 years.

Jeep worked closely with Sony Pictures to ensure authenticity with the original film, and, of course, no Groundhog Day reference would be complete without Bill Murray reprising the title role of Phil Connors from the movie. It’s the first commercial Bill Murray has ever done, and it is his last too.

Poppy | Jeep Gladiator | Groundhog Day | Super Bowl 2020
Poppy the groundhog

The starring role of groundhog goes to Poppy, (now 10 months old) who was rescued at 4 weeks old, and a birth defect prevented her from returning to the wild. She is currently in the care of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in Pennsylvania and is a beloved member of the caretaker’s family. Poppy is a state- and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)-licensed educational animal. Now thriving, Poppy has become an educational “ambassador” for all wildlife.

The ad performance by numbers:

  • “Groundhog Day” has been viewed 104,246,754 times across the Jeep brand’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels
  • “Groundhog Day” has more social views online than any other commercial airing during the Big Game
  • “Groundhog Day” takes #1 spot in USA Today Ad Meter poll
  • “Groundhog Day” takes #1 auto ad in annual YouTube AdBlitz 2020 (#2 spot overall among 164 videos)

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images: QuickPic