Since the debut of Chrysler's acclaimed "Farmer" and "Whole Again" Super Bowl ads, the smallest and scrappiest of the Detroit Three is at it again with its "Chip Away" ad featuring the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. This time, instead of Paul Harvey, the voiceover track is taken from the movie "Any Given Sunday" featuring Al Pacino as coach Tony D'Amato of the fictitious Miami Sharks football team.
In the pep-talk, Pacino's character says "Life's a game of inches" emphasizing precision and timing in achieving greatness. The B-Roll used in the commercial starts off with a barber sharpening his straight-edge razor on an old-school leather strap before shaving a customer, then cutting to various athletes training, musicians playing, and craftsmen building.
Finally, the ad cuts to footage of the new Grand Cherokee, with a voiceover saying "Every inch, every minute, every second, we chip away at refining the climb and building greatness."
The theme of the ad carries the possibly unintended double-entendre of the Grand Cherokee being a significant refresh, rather than an all-new design, with inches and increments defining the visible changes, although the addition of the eight-speed transmission and the new 3.0-liter diesel option count as major changes to the popular midsize SUV.
The new transmission and highly-anticipated diesel are not specifically mentioned in the commercial, although a close-up of the "EcoDiesel" badge on the Grand Cherokee's tailgate is shown toward the end of the commercial, in a brief acknowledgement of the new powertrain.
Although we don't quite think it has the same impact as "Farmer" we like the edgy new spot, and hope more creative, dramatic commercials follow from Jeep and Chrysler. Watch the spot below.