Morse-Code-Like Font Calls for Adventure

There are certain symbols around the world that, somehow, have become synonyms with a brand. For instance, in an experiment by Kraft Heinz Canada, people were asked to draw a bottle of ketchup from memory. Commissioned anonymously, the brand was surprised to find out that when people think of this sauce, they visualize a bottle of Heinz ketchup.

“There are some amazing exceptions, where the product itself — without advertising noise and promotions, just through its characteristics and attributes — happens to be remarkable enough. Such iconic products are the LEGO brick, the glass bottle of Coca-Cola, the bottle of Absolut vodka, and, obviously, the bottle of Heinz,” notes Ivan Gurkov, contributor at our sister-site, Brandingmag.

Another such lucky brand with an instantly recognizable icon is this one: O|||||||O — or, as those who are not familiar with the symbol know as the Jeep® brand. The company’s grille is one of the most famous brand marks in the automotive industry and, Stellantis — the automotive corporation group that manages 16 car brands, including Jeep — decided to use this icon of the brand to invite explorers to a one-of-a-kind experience.

Based on Jeep’s famous grille, Publicis Middle East has created a Morse-Code-like system of communication, sending a message to the Middle East’s Jeep brand community that is as adventurous as the group’s spirit is. This new way of communication bears the “Jeep Call of Adventure Font” and uses the exact dimensions of the dots and lines of the brand grille to write words.

“The Middle East’s Jeep brand community is among one of the strongest Jeep brand communities in the world. They live and breathe our brand values of adventure and discovery, know us inside out, and recognize our brand in an instant. They are explorers who choose the road less traveled. We needed to talk to them in a special way only they would understand, showing that no one understands them better than we do,” explains Melhem Najm, Chief Marketing Officer at Stellantis, Middle East & Africa.

The design language is visible in print and OOH as part of “The Call of Adventure” campaign. According to the brand, this is an initiative “only true explorers will respond to.” Yet this invitation Jeep signals is not the traditional call to action (CTA) consumers might expect, as there is no name or type logo. Just dots and dashes waiting to be deciphered by the fans.

“For an audience that seeks adventure, having no CTA is the strongest CTA,” explains Tuki Ghiassi, Executive Creative Director at Publicis Middle East. “We loved the idea of giving the Jeep brand grille a voice, urging people to get back out there into the wild. So, we created a new Jeep brand grille font, which is based on the dimensions and look-and-feel of the Jeep brand grille logo. Then we used it to build all our messages because the Jeep brand community doesn’t want all the answers — they want to discover things for themselves. The 7-slot Jeep brand grille is inseparable from the brand — a powerful icon that’s instantly recognizable to the Jeep brand community. It would be difficult for any other automotive brand to communicate in such a relevant way.”

Jeep’s font is the language for adventure-seekers and is unique for both the brand and the community. But, just in case there are users who are having trouble trying to decode the message or people who simply don’t speak “Jeep,” the brand has revealed a microsite, which they can use as a tool to find the “secret” messages Jeep is trying to send. The online portal is interactive and allows anyone to generate their own content: All users need to do is upload one of their most adventurous pictures and add text to it.