Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

Jeep is aiming to capture the attention of hip, young buyers by using the the song "Renegades" by X Ambassadors to promote its new Jeep Renegade SUV with a new 60-second commercial that will debut nationally today.

The campaign is yet another example of the automaker's deep belief that partnerships with the movie and music industries are the best way to market automobiles and highlights an evolving partnership with Interscope Records.

The commercial shows groups of guys and girls in their 20s taking a mix of urban and rural adventures. With the Renegade, they drive to the beach, canyons, rivers along with visits to urban parks. The song "Renegades," which was released separately on March 3, plays throughout the ad.

The commercial and the song are designed to evoke a sense of exploration with lyrics that include the line: "Long live the pioneers, rebels and mutineers, go forth and have no fear, come close and lend an ear."

The 2015 Renegade, a subcompact SUV, is the most important new vehicle that FCA US (previously Chrysler) will launch this year. Built in Italy, the automaker is counting on the subcompact Renegade to be a hit both in the U.S. and globally as it works to expand global sales from 1 million to 1.9 million by 2018.

"The whole point of the Renegade is to create a feeder to the brand," Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois told the Free Press. "For many Renegade buyers, this will be their first Jeep."

The first commercial will be followed by two 30-second commercials, including "Endurance Race," that will spotlight the SUV's off-road capability, and "Beach," that will spotlight the Renegade's open-air roof system as well as a print and social media campaigns.

The Renegade will be sold in 100 countries around the world. In addition to Italy, the automaker also is making the Renegade at a new plant in Brazil and is preparing to launch its marketing campaign there.

Francois, who is good friends with Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine, has teamed up with the record label a number of times in recent years. FCA US has tapped artists such as Eminem, Fergie, Imagine Dragons, Gwen Stefani and Phillip Phillips in ads for its Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat.

For the Renegade campaign, Francois approached Interscope and asked if the record label could create a new song that would fit mesh with the goal of luring younger buyers to the new Renegade.

Normally, such a request would take weeks. But Francois said he was stunned when Interscope Records Vice Chairman Steve Berman came back with a finished song just a few days later.

"Really, this was very high stakes. There was an unprecedented media budget. And we are launching Renegade on a global basis," Francois said. "But when when I listened to it for the first time I thought the music was a smash...they speak of the Renegades and they speak to the Renegade in each of us. And they captured it."

Francois also said he preferred to tap a group that is still establishing itself that would appeal to the millennial generation, or those born between 1980 and 2000.

"The whole story is about selling our cars to the most challenging consumer target -- millenials. They are not easy sell to," Francois said. "The whole purpose here is to join hands and create something, so I like the idea that they are an emerging band."

Coincidentally, Berman said an Interscope producer, Alex da Kid, was already working on a song with X Ambassadors that nearly complete when Francois first approached the label about the Renegade campaign.

"He said Steve...would this work? It was just one of those things," Berman said.

Berman said Francois' willingness to accept the song to help support the global marketing campaign is emblematic of the the relationship that continues to evolve between the company and the record label even with the departure of Iovine, who left to join Beats Music after it was acquired by Apple.

"(Francois) is always is looking for the right opportunity to be able to expose an artist... in a way that is unique to that brand and that fits with the artist," Berman said. "We are very fortunate that he believes music and the art of music is a way to make that connection."

Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.