See what 10,000 armed sportsmen can do if they get their arse in gear? I hope the person who chose to run this commercial is pushing carts in the Wal-Mart parking lot soon. Here's a Jeep letter that went out today:
Thank you for your comments regarding our 30-second Jeep Grand Cherokeetelevision commercial. We value your opinion and appreciate your willingness to share it with us.
As you know, outdoor activities and communing with the environment are both basic to the DNA of the Jeep brand. That is why for many years Jeep has sponsored and supported a wide range of outdoor events and activities.
With this in mind, we created the spot to communicate the key attributes of Jeep - off-road capability, ruggedness, safety and security. Because of ourinnate involvement with nature and outdoor activities, we felt we could use the hunting analogy in a tongue-in-cheek way to highlight the "go anywhere, do anything" capability of Jeep vehicles.
Unfortunately, we did not anticipate this story line would evoke such
negative emotion among some viewers. That was never intended. We apologize if we inadvertently offended any individual or group. Obviously we underestimated the sensitivity of this issue.
Jeep, as the embodiment of the great outdoors, does not want to damage our relationship with any groups or individuals that love, appreciate and enjoy outdoor activities. Nor do we want to damage our relationship with our loyal customers or prospects who reside on either side of this issue. Therefore, because this is so emotionally charged, we will no longer continue this campaign.
Again, thank you for sharing your views with us. We hope this clarifies our position.
Respectfully,
The Jeep Brand
A Division of DaimlerChrysler Corporation
