This could be great news for "Star Wars" fan and Ram chief designer Ryan Nagode, who showed off his personal "Storm Trooper-esque" Ram 1500 Rebel at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' What's New media event in Michigan earlier this summer.
According to The Detroit News, FCA and Lucasfilm Inc. (which is owned by Walt Disney Co.) have entered into an agreement to collaborate during the promotional campaign for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," directed by J.J. Abrams and scheduled for a Dec. 18 release. There's no word whether the Nagode vehicle — complete with "Star Wars"-themed stickers — was the impetus for the corporate relationship, but this is likely to spawn some special package deals under the heading of "cross marketing."
FCA has done several other high-profile movie deals with monster publicity events and special vehicles both inside and outside the actual films. The responsibility for many of these Hollywood partnerships sits squarely on the shoulders of Olivier Francois, the chief marketing officer. "Furious 7," "Godzilla" and "Unbroken" are just a few of the big-dollar partnerships that have resulted in co-branded commercials and advertising campaigns.
We can only hope we'll see one of these special-edition "Nagode" Rams somewhere in the next movie, but it's more likely we'll see some kind of classic Ram pickup commercial (maybe with Sam Elliott's voiceover) taking place in space.
Cars.com photos by Tim Esterdahl
