BACKGROUND
Competitor automotive brands are trying to chip into the Jeep consumer base. One well-known American competitor has even gone as far as copying the Jeep Wrangler to win over a new audience.

In an uncertain automotive landscape where production and supply chains were affected by the pandemic, the main objective was to retain our customer base.

The Middle East Jeep Community is among the strongest Jeep communities in the world. They live and breathe our brand values of adventure and discovery, know us inside out and recognize our brand in an instant.

They are explorers who choose the road less traveled. We needed to talk to them in a special way only they would understand and show them that no one understood them better than we did. So we captured their attention anytime they weren’t outside having an adventure.

THE CREATIVE IDEA
The Jeep grille has always been an icon that served as an invitation for adventure. But what if it could actually speak? Interestingly, the Jeep grille logo consists of dots and lines, much like another communication system: Morse Code - the language of adventure, which is used to connect with civilization from far-flung destinations: the kind of destinations where only a Jeep can take you.

We used it to develop the call of adventure, a campaign only true explorers would respond to. We spoke in a way that was unique to Jeep and also unique to our community’s aspirations.

THE EXECUTION
We created a campaign without a traditional CTA, because for a target audience that values an adventure, the strongest CTA is no CTA. Instead, we minted a new Jeep Morse Font, refined to match the exact dimensions of the dots and lines of the Jeep logo. Then we created a campaign that was a journey of discovery, which would only appeal to true explorers.

We broadcast cryptic Jeep Morse Code signals across in-mall mupis and POS. With a simple online search, people were led to our microsite where they could translate the messages. The messages served as the call of adventure for people to disconnect, go off-grid, and exhale. Adding to the essence of discovery, our vehicles were hidden in our ads, so people had to search for them.

THE RESULTS
For the first time, we created a new design language so unique that no other brand could copy it or speak so directly to our audience, in the process, strengthening the bond between brand and consumer.

The Jeep community, unaffiliated with the Jeep brand, spontaneously started communicating in Morse Code on their Jeep Club Whatsapp groups, we started receiving Morse Code comments on our social posts, and club members printed Morse Code T-shirts.

Our campaign was picked up by major industry blogs and magazines across the world, including Little Black Book, Clube de Criação (Brazil), The Stable (Australia), Roast Beef (US), La Reclame (France) and Campaign Middle East.

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF MORSE CODE

Image 1: Off-grid

Image 2: Disconnect

Image 3: Exhale

Jeep - The Call of Adventure

CREDITS

Gold partners