Halloween is now over, so you know what that means - promotions for the holiday season have begun as shops prepare for the Black Friday sales frenzy. To get into the holiday spirit, Dodge has built a custom sleigh for Santa based on a 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. It features in a new 30-second commercial as part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' new "Big Finish" advertising campaign across TV, social and digital channels.
Santa's new hardcore sleigh packs a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces 797 hp and 707 lb-ft of torque. With a 0-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 203 mph, we'd love to see it take part in a drag race against Santa's trusty reindeer.
In the commercial, Santa, who is played by former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, stares at his obsolete sleigh and tells his elves it's time for an upgrade. They then build a custom sleigh based on the hardcore muscle car featuring a chopped windshield, four exhaust pipes on each fender, and an open-air cabin. Even the Hellcat logo has been replaced with a holiday-themed reindeer design, which will be available to buy as a T-shirt on Dodge's website. More holiday merchandise will follow, including the same version of the sweater worn by Goldberg in the commercial.
This isn't the first time a car manufacturer has reimagined Santa's sleigh – remember Ford's EcoBoost-powered concept sleigh? We should see more of Dodge's attempt at reinventing Santa's sleigh next month as the automaker says it will "chronicle the elves' entire process of overhauling Santa's sleigh" in a new video series on YouTube in December.
Starting this week, FCA is also airing new Holiday-themed commercials for the Chrysler Pacifica, Ram 1500, and Jeep's current line-up featuring new takes on classic Christmas songs by artists Gwen Stefani and OneRepublic.
Jeep's 30-second "Colorful Christmas" spot features a re-imagining of "White Christmas" by OneRepublic, with the Jeep brand's full vehicle lineup "celebrating the colors of the holiday season set against mountainous red rocks, emerald green forests, aqua blue coastlines, softly lighted city streets and white snowy landscapes."
To promote the Ram brand for the holiday season, FCA used Gwen Stefani's original holiday track "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" from her newly released deluxe holiday album. The all-new Ram 1500, the Ram 2500 and the Ram 3500 are used to construct a life-size gingerbread float complete with giant gumdrops, huge marshmallows and gigantic graham crackers.
Kathryn Hahn appears in the Chrysler Pacifica commercial, which serves as a boom box to blast out "Lit Christmas," a rap re-imagination of "Jingle Bells," while taking the kids out carolling,
