Lucas Bell 
Earlier this year, Dodge became the first U.S. automaker to ever secure the top spot in both the J.D. Power APEAL Study and the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. This was a historic moment for the company, and one that they want people to know about. In order to spread the word, the company has just released an ad titled “Family Motto”, and it might be their best ad campaign yet.
Dodge has done a great job over the past few years giving us cool commercials to highlight their muscle cars. Raucous engines, smokey burnouts and big-angle slides have become the norm whenever a Brotherhood of Muscle ad-spot comes up. However, this latest “Family Motto” ad takes a more humorous approach than they’ve attempted previously. In order to do this, they needed to drag out America’s greatest racing legend: Ricky Bobby.
That’s right, we are once again joined by the hero of the 2006 film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”. The ad takes place in Talladega County back in 1981, where the current crop of Dodge muscle cars always existed (just go with it). A 10-year old Ricky (not played by Will Ferrell) is behind the wheel of a Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, while being pursued by his father Reese Bobby portrayed by the legendary Gary Cole. Like any speed-loving family man, Reese is behind the wheel of a Durango SRT Hellcat, which he uses to stay right on his joy-riding son’s tail. That is until one Cal Naughton Jr. gets involved with his Challenger SRT Super Stock. Shake ‘n Bake, baby!
The ad is chock full of great one-liners from the film, and features all of the same over-the-top action that we came to love in the original flick. The ad culminates with the Bobby family motto: “if you ain’t first, you’re last,” which is undoubtedly the movie’s most quoted line. A bit of a cheeky dig by Dodge, but one that fan’s won’t soon forget.
