Remember When Activision Tried To Sell Call Of Duty-Themed Jeeps?
Call of Duty ads have always been hit-or-miss - but there was a time when a Jeep crossover made for their most bizarre ever.
04th Apr 2022 12:07
Images via Jeep | Activision
Remember When Activision Tried To Sell Call Of Duty-Themed Jeeps?
Call of Duty ads have always been hit-or-miss - but there was a time when a Jeep crossover made for their most bizarre ever.
04th Apr 2022 12:07
Images via Jeep | Activision
Call of Duty advertising has been a little all-over-the-place over the years. Naturally, the games have an intrinsic connection to warfare (it's hard to imagine a Call of Duty without it, frankly), so it often comes hand-in-hand with controversy.
The teams behind the games have taken some warring stances on this in the past, with some ads going hard on the arcade-shooter action with enough explosions and bombast to sell the games as the most fun you could ever have on a console - and others, like those for Vanguard, that sell the game as an intense and immersive simulator for the experiences of war. Despite the finished product basically just being a Call of Duty with a new lick of paint.
But, they've also gone a little bit silly in the past - like making whopping vehicles to promote their games.
Call Of Duty Jeeps Were A Weird Promo Item - Twice
For a couple of PR moves that were deeply bizarre, Call of Duty had collaborations with Jeep, which saw the automotive manufacturer release two Call of Duty inspired versions of their ubiquitous 4x4s.
In the run-up to the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops, it was revealed that The Wrangler CoD: Black Ops Edition would be hitting the streets. With a hefty price tag of $30,625 for the two-door model and $33,500 for the four-door, this wasn't for your average CoD fan.
"The Jeep brand's partnership with Activision marries the world's most capable and iconic vehicle - the Jeep Wrangler - with one of the world's most popular entertainment experiences," said Jeeps' CEO and President Mike Manley.
But, bizarrely, this isn't the only time that the Jeep collaborated with Call of Duty - in fact, Modern Warfare 3 came with its own special edition Jeep Wrangler for a steeper price, but to be fair, it did look much more like a tie-in vehicle. Which is exactly why we're so repulsed by it.
Why Would Anyone Buy A Call Of Duty Jeep?
Beyond the question of why on earth Activision figured that two separate branded Jeeps would be a smart idea to promote their games, there's a bigger question - and that's how anyone could be compelled to shell out upwards of $30,000 to promote a game (and get a car), especially if that game's life cycle will be over in the next year.
Imagine being on a date and it's going really well, they offer to drive take you home, and then it happens - they take you to their Call of Duty Jeep. They're garish and bizarre, and it's strange to imagine the type of person who is so into the franchise that they're willing to drive it around their city without feeling crushing pangs of embarrassment.
The Call of Duty Jeeps ask more questions than they answer, and most of those questions are simply "why?" Although, we yearn slightly for the era of deeply bizarre promotional items - and we'd welcome the Jeeps back for the upcoming Modern Warfare II, if only for a proper good laugh. Activision, the world is watching - bring back driveable ads.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
