Jeep’s ‘Groundhog Day’ commercial wins USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter

Jeep’s nostalgic commercial for its Gladiator pickup truck won USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter, which asks the public to rate ads online with a score from 1 to 10. In the automaker’s 60-second “Groundhog Day” spot, Bill Murray reprises his role as meteorologist Phil Connors from the 1993 comedy classic of the same name. Stephen Tobolowsky also makes a cameo as insurance salesman Ned Ryerson, and Brian Doyle-Murray appears as the top hat-wearing Groundhog Day master of ceremonies. The Fiat Chrysler-owned brand shot the ad, which was created by Chicago-based agency Highdive, in Woodstock, Ill., last week—the same town outside Chicago where the movie was filmed—making Jeep one of the last advertisers to announce a Super Bowl appearance this year. (Not to be lost on the audience is the fact that Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day both fell on Feb. 2 this year). Scoring a 7.01 out of 10, the fourth-quarter commercial marks Jeep’s first Ad Meter win, and the first victory for a car brand since Kia took home the top spot in 2017. But the score makes the commercial the second-lowest-scoring winner in the Ad Meter’s 32-year history. Only Hyundai, which topped the USA Today metric with a high score of 6.90 in 2016, has a lower score among the winners. Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” ad from Innocean came in at No. 2 on this year’s Ad Meter with a score of 6.98. Starring celebrities with roots in Massachusetts, the spot is heavy on Boston accents. Rounding out the top five of USA Today's 2020 Ad Meter were: 3. Google’s “Loretta” — 6.77 4. Doritos’ “The Cool Ranch” — 6.62 5. Rocket Mortgage’s “Comfortable” — 6.60

Jeep’s ‘Groundhog Day’ commercial wins USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter

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