Ram’s Super Bowl commercial is out, and we like it bunches. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we’re not sure it’s good enough to overcome our disappointment at seeing so many of the concept truck’s unique features fall by the wayside. Ram spent a year talking about how it wanted to make a truck that bested the other electric pickups out there, and that it was touring the country having conversations with customers about what features would be important to them. Then, a little more than a month ago, it shows an electric pickup concept that demonstrated, ‘Here’s what we learned about all the cool stuff we can put into an electric pickup. In fact, it’s so cool that many of these features would be great in a traditional pickup, too.’
We get that the CES truck was a concept. But it’s been a long time since we got a concept hyped for so long, that was totally worth the hype, and that was debuted so close to a production model that was so different. The “Breathtaking Design” section of the production Ram 1500 REV site lists “bold grille,” “dynamic details,” “signature lighting,” and “charging identification lights.” This does not equal that.
Anyway, the commercial’s a treat, themed like a prescription ad for an antidote to “Premature Electrification” and suggestive in the same way as Kmart’s also excellent “Ship My Pants” campaign. A concerned narrator in the Ram spot asks if you’re afraid that going electric too soon will mean “you might not be able to last as long as you like,” and there’s a guy on a pier who’s going to need some new equipment if he wants to catch fish. We’re also told there are “options being designed to extend range in satisfying ways,” so if this truck isn’t right for you, you have choices. All the commercial’s missing is a silly medical marketing name and six seconds of speed-reading gibberish about side effects like intestinal bleeding and death. Which are two more good things. So have a watch and enjoy, and maybe put a deposit down on the real truck at the dedicated site if you’re so inclined.
