How Ron Burgundy Learned to Love Dodge, and Vice Versa

Inside the Will Ferrell campaign with W+K, Gifted Youth

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IDEA: Fictional '70s anchorman Ron Burgundy doing parody ads, which double as real ads, for a 2014 sport utility vehicle? Olivier François, who has broken the mold before as CMO of Chrysler and Fiat, was ecstatic to try it—even though he'd never heard of Anchorman and knew only vaguely of Will Ferrell.

The idea was actually born in a Fiat meeting, where then North American brand chief Tim Kuniskis proposed Burgundy as pitchman for the Fiat 500L—since the car, like the man, is "kind of a big deal."

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