Michael Jackson And Jeep Seems Like An Obvious Mismatch

When I was growing up, my buddy’s dad had a Jeep Wrangler. He was a pretty gruff guy with a beard. I always pictured them taking that thing off-road and driving up the sides of mountains. During the summer, I would get a ride in it from time to time. Driving around with an exposed roll bar being the only thing between you and the heavens is pretty cool. So needless to say, I had a certain feeling about the Jeep brand and what it represented.

I don’t think my experience was too far off of what Jeep was going for. The brand was all about a sporty, outdoorsman feel. That’s why I have to wonder if the recent Fiat acquisition of Chrysler has already made the Jeep brand a little soft given the latest commercial hitting the airwaves.

The brand chose to push some special edition Jeep vehicles with an unreleased music track….from Michael Jackson. And the track is titled “Love Never Felt So Good.” Needless to say, the bearded father would not approve – nor would this guy.

Even so, I put my negative expectations away before viewing the new ad. But…I just couldn’t get into it. The light, airy feel is something I would expect to see for the Fiat 500. The yellow one. It would all fit into the fun lifestyle. But not Jeep, not the tough Jeep from my childhood.

Maybe I’m way off base here, but it seems like a complete mismatch. And for the record, I don’t hate the King of Pop’s music. I’m just not feeling it combined with Jeep.