The Jeep brand has been trying to remind Americans of something it would prefer they not forget: that before there was a superhero named Captain America, there were actual captains, in actual wars, driving actual Jeeps.

The latest iteration of this institutional memory project, created with the Chicago agency Highdive, is called "The Original Superheroes" and features a Wrangler being dropped from a military cargo plane in a visual quotation of the Willys MB deployments of World War II. The vehicle lands, one presumes, somewhat more gently than those original jeeps did on the beaches and fields of Europe and the Pacific.

The spot, which will run in long form on social media and in a 30-second version on television, puts real veterans behind the wheels of Jeep's various nameplates — Grand Cherokee, Gladiator, Grand Wagoneer and others — rather than actors pretending to have served. Even the pilots in the cargo plane are actual veterans, though Jeep notes they "served in other ranks." (One assumes this means they were not captains, which would have complicated the thematic consistency.)

"By spotlighting real veterans, captains across land, air and sea, it's a powerful reminder of what leadership, service and true heroism look like," said Olivier Francois, the global chief marketing officer of Stellantis, Jeep's parent company, in a statement.

The campaign is the second phase of a broader collaboration between Jeep and Marvel that began last month with the introduction of the Wrangler America250 special edition, which features patriotic design elements and a limited-edition Captain America shield tire cover. Stellantis is the exclusive automotive partner of America250, the federal commission marking the nation's semiquincentennial, and the partnership will continue through July 4 and into the release of "Avengers: Doomsday."

Buyers of the special-edition Wrangler will also receive a limited-edition comic book with an original illustrated cover depicting Captain America alongside the vehicle — a reminder, perhaps, that in the advertising business, even superheroes need a product placement deal.

Original story published in MediaPost: "Jeep Celebrates Original Superheroes"