PRAGMATIC ISSUES

It’s time to break from politics and start to look at advertisers that try to sell us patriotism.

Every few months another commercial appears waving the American flag and telling us that Jeep and Dodge stand with the American people.

Freedom.

Grit.

Patriotism.

The open road.

The message is simple.

Buying one of these vehicles means you are supporting something deeply American.

But the reality behind that message feels very different when you actually try to buy one.

I recently contacted the corporation that owns Jeep, Stellantis who just so happens to be the multinational parent company that owns the Jeep brand after dealing with behaviour from dealerships that felt dishonest and aggressive.

Vehicles listed online that suddenly could not be found. In another case a 2016 with modifications that you can by on Amazon and install yourself trying to sell a Wranger for over twice its actual Value.

Pressure to come into the dealership before anyone would answer basic questions.

Pricing that shifted depending on who you spoke to.

So I did what any customer should be able to do.

I contacted the parent company to explain what was happening.

There was no response.

Not even an acknowledgment.

That silence tells you everything you need to know.

Companies behind those patriotic commercials like Stellantis which is headquartered in Amsterdam and built from a merger between European automakers and the old Chrysler group, folks are not “American” and should not be trying to sell patriotism. If you buy you, you are a fool.

The vehicles are built through global supply chains.

The corporate leadership answers to shareholders around the world.

They do not answer to consumers.

They do not stand with anyone, they only stand with money.

There is nothing uniquely American about that structure.

And that is fine.

Companies exist to make money.

What is not fine is pretending otherwise.

Patriotism has become a marketing strategy in the auto industry.

Wrap a vehicle in the language of American pride and suddenly it feels like more than a purchase.

The Advertising is made to make you, YOU feel like a statement about who you are.

American.

But when customers raise concerns or try to hold companies accountable the patriotic messaging disappears.

The only thing left is the bottom line.

Most Americans understand global business.

We understand that brands evolve and corporations merge and supply chains stretch across the world.

What we do not appreciate is being sold a story about American values while being treated like a disposable transaction.

If Jeep and Dodge want to keep invoking the American spirit in their advertising then they should start acting like companies that respect American customers.

Answer the complaints.

Address the dealer behaviour.

Stand behind the people who buy the vehicles.

Because the moment patriotism becomes nothing more than a sales script people start noticing.

And once enough Americans notice the flag in those commercials stops looking like pride.

It starts looking like a prop.

Besides no one owns a truly American made Vehicle anymore.