The Super Bowl ad for Jeep was Bill Murray’s first appearance in a national commercial.
The 60-second commercial was created and filmed over three days in Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie was filmed. Fiat Chrysler worked with Fox to fit the ad in during the game. It also got the rights and licensing to recreate the movie and use the song “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher, which Murray woke up to each day in the movie.
Persuading Murray to reprise his role in the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” on the biggest advertising night of the year came down to a chance meeting 4 years ago, a lengthy letter and surprise call two weeks before the big game — after Fiat Chrysler had already given up on Murray and decided against running a Super Bowl ad this year.
Fiat Chrysler Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois realized that the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day would be occurring on the same day for the first time in 54 years, the perfect opportunity to cast Bill Murray.
On Jan. 17 Francois received a call from Murray agreeing to do the ad, saying it was “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” according to Francois.
“I think he is a smart man and we owed that to the fans,” Francois said. “His fans, and, more importantly, the fans of the movie, who are many in America. For whatever reason, he says, ‘Yes.’”
Francois is well-known for casting unique actors in unconventional commercials. Most notably, he persuaded Detroit rapper Eminem to star in an ad for the Chrysler 200 sedan in 2011. Since then, other ads for the automaker have featured actor Clint Eastwood and musician Bob Dylan as well as voiceovers by Oprah Winfrey and deceased legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey.
The video was published on YouTube on Sunday at 6 a.m., a nod to when Murray’s character in the movie awoke each day.
Murray, in a release, said this was his first and last commercial: “This is my first commercial. I’m glad I did it with you (Jeep),” he said. “And I’m glad that this is my last commercial, as well.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/03/how-jeep-landed-bill-murray-for-its-groundhog-day-super-bowl-ad.html
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