Jeep Trail Rated
Creative Direction · July 2013 – August 2017
The Trail Rated badge is one of the most meaningful marks in the automotive world — a certification that every Jeep vehicle earns by proving itself against five gruelling off-road tests. Our challenge was to bring that story to life digitally: to show prospective buyers not just that a Jeep was capable, but exactly what that capability looked like on some of the most demanding terrain on earth.
The concept
Jim and I developed the concept for a video series that would dramatise each of the five Trail Rated certification criteria individually — giving each capability its own film, shot on the legendary Rubicon Trail in California. A sixth overview video framed the full picture. The series was produced for each new vehicle launch, giving every new Jeep a trail-proven story told in its own right.
My role
Originated the concept — framing each Trail Rated capability as its own distinct film rather than a single catch-all video, giving the series depth and replayability
Sourced and briefed the director, Matthew James Thompson of North of New York, and led the creative relationship throughout production
Provided on-location creative direction on the Rubicon Trail — overseeing performance, composition, and the capture of key capability moments
Led post-production creative direction through editing, titles, and final delivery — carrying the creative vision from concept through to the finished films
Creative Direction — Jason Mills, Jim Borwick
Director — Matthew James Thompson
Production — North of New York
The six-video series
Water Fording
Ground Clearance
Manoeuvrability
Traction
Articulation
Overview
Series anchor film
A series built to travel
The videos were published on Jeep's YouTube channel and featured on Jeep.com as part of each vehicle launch. Within a couple of months of release, most videos surpassed 25,000 views — and the reach didn't stop there. Jeep regional teams around the world picked up the series and shared it across their own YouTube channels, driving additional viewership far beyond the original campaign footprint.
What began as a digital content series for the US launch became a globally distributed expression of what the Trail Rated badge actually means.
Impact
25K+
Views per video within the first few months of release
6
Films produced per vehicle launch — one per Trail Rated criteria plus an overview
Global
Picked up and shared by Jeep regional teams across their own YouTube channels worldwide
This series ran across multiple vehicle launches and became a repeatable format for communicating Trail Rated capability at the moment it matters most — when a customer is deciding whether a Jeep can handle their world.