Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the biggest movie event on this side of the galaxy, and in little over a week theaters across the U.S. will be inundated with fans eager to see the seventh chapter of the epic saga. More than just a movie, this is a cultural milestone, and everybody is getting in on the action, including Dodge.
The latest commercial from Fiat-Chrysler’s everyman brand has a legion of white-clad Dodge vehicles following a Dodge Viper doing its best Darth Vader impression, music and all. That’s one way to get into the spirit of the Star Wars season.
The commercial is actually one of five, one for each of FCA’s core brands, with Chrysler, Fiat, Ram, and Jeep also getting their own Star Wars ad spots. Each of the 30-second spots takes a different perspective on the movie, though the Dodge ad arguably does it best with its impression of Sith lord Darth Vader. Fiat and Jeep both went for more spaceship themes instead, with Chrysler relying on nostalgia to get its point across and Ram harnessing the power of the Force for its commercial. You can check out all five videos on the Dodge brand YouTube channel.
Automakers have always had a hand in movies, and marketing of said movies, but new technology has opened up new avenues of advertising. For the release of Mad Max: Fury Road video game, producers teamed up with Uber to offer customers in Seattle free rides in post-apocalyptic war machines for a day, and you’ve probably seen the Stormtrooper Dodge Chargers that joined Uber for a day. GM even built and sold several Transformers Edition Camaros a few years ago, leaving us sitting here wondering if a Darth Vader edition Dodge Viper might be too much to wish for. The Sith Lord and supercar even share the same initials.
Now that’d be the ultimate movie tie-in.