Why AutoTrader Used The Dukes Of Hazzard To Advertise Featuring The New Dodge Charger

If you were a child of the eighties, you watched the Dukes Of Hazzard. Why, well because it was awesome to see a bright orange Dodge Charger being jumped every episode, and also because your television viewing options were much less restricted than they are in today’s society. The Duke cousins became a household name and families tuned in every week to see what they would be up to and what the car would jump in that episode.

Dodge was smart to bring back the iconic Dodge Charger. It is a fast muscle car and is known for its beefy styling and retro interior. Sold as a full sized sedan, we still really see the Charger for what it is. A really majestic muscle car. Even some police forces are using the powerful Charger as their vehicle of choice, because it is fast, sturdy, and let’s face it, it makes them look cool driving them around town.

AutoTrader took a leap of faith in using the Dukes Of Hazzard in their new advertising campaign. The Dukes are outrunning the police driving the 1969 classic orange General Lee Charger. The police are chasing them in the new Charger. The Duke cousins realize that maybe good old General Lee isn’t up to par for outrunning the new Chargers and they get on their smartphone and where do they go? Why AutoTrader of course.

Then AutoTrader app let’s them search, get price alerts and all kinds of other nifty things while they are on the run. The Dukes then go to see the vehicle they searched, a new Charger of course, and ask if they can get it in orange. AutoTrader was smart in this marketing tactic as people love the Dukes, and they love the Charger. Using this bit to show customers that Dodge still has an awesome muscle car decades later, and that they can help them find the right one in a way that is so easy, you can even do it while evading the police is classic.

When you mesh two classics like the Dukes Of Hazzard and the Dodge Charger, you really can’t go wrong. This was a homerun of a marketing piece and AutoTrader performed it seamlessly. Some critics of course question why anyone would trade in the classic General Lee, but I think they kind of missed the point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6syCBrvmJ68