The Super Bowl tends to bring a surprise or two outside of the big game with the commercials, be it a trailer or two for some highly-anticipated upcoming movies, or a major nostalgia play. In this case, we have a new ad from Jeep that sees Bill Murray returning in one of his most iconic roles, Phil Connors from Groundhog Day. Luckily, the folks at Jeep were kind enough to put the spot online already, which you can watch right now.
It’s Groundhog Day all over again as Jeep brand debuts a Big Game spot starring Bill Murray (in his first-ever national television commercial). But this time reliving the same day over and over again is always a new adventure when you’re driving the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. Jeep. There’s only one.
Bill Murray is a hard guy to lock down. But he somehow managed to show up for this great Super Bowl commercial, which arrives before the big game gets started a little later in teh afternoon.
Jeep, more or less, turned this into a sequel to the 1993 comedy classic Groundhog Day. As we can see, it sort of flips the script on the premise. Yes, we do see Phil, once again, caught in something of a time loop, reliving the same day over and over again. However, this time around, he finds a way to enjoy the day by going on various adventures in a fancy new Jeep Gladiator with the groundhog.
Aside from Bill Murray, we see Stephen Tobolowsky reprising his role as Ned and Brian Doyle-Murray back as Buster. Over the years, Groundhog Day has gone on to become one of the truly beloved, all-time comedy classics. So seeing these characters reunited after all these years in something that looks and feels very much like the movie, only with a fancy Jeep in it, is pretty fantastic. It’s likely the closest thing we’ll ever get to a true sequel.
Several photos of Bill Murray filming the commercial made their way online several days ago, which may have spoiled this surprise a bit. Either way, this fits in nicely with a new trend in the ad game that is playing on nostalgia in a big way. Recently, we saw Henry Thomas revisit his iconic role as Elliot in a commercial that essentially served as an E.T. sequel. We also had Jeff Bridges back as The Dude for a Stella Artois commercial last year and Wal-Mart recently released an ad that was packed full of pop culture icons.
Directors by Harold Ramis, Groundhog Day was released in 1993 and centers on Phil Connors, a cynical TV weatherman who finds himself living the same day over and over again when he goes on location to the small town of Punxsutawney to report on their Groundhog Day festivities. The movie was a hit in its day, but over the years has lived on in a larger and far more meaningful way that has made it a bonafide cinematic classic.
For more than 75 years, the Jeep name has been indelibly associated with freedom, authenticity, adventure and passion. These are vehicles for “dreamers and doers” – forging extraordinary, uncommon bonds between themselves and their owners, because adventure is found in every Jeep vehicle’s DNA. The Jeep badge stands for more than a brand. In truth, it’s a badge of honor. This spot comes direct from Jeep ahead of the Big Game.
