Dodge Durango ads starring Ron Burgundy look like a hit: It's risky, but the movie tie-in cuts marketing costs

A series of 70 new Dodge Durango spots featuring comedian Will Ferrell as fictional anchorman Ron Burgundy turns traditional automotive advertising on its ear.

The commercials, which debuted Oct. 5, tout the Durango's features -- but the pitchman is a clueless 1970s-era newscaster. Burgundy explores the 2014 Durango's major and minor attributes, such as a glove box "comfortable enough to hold two turkey sandwiches or 70 packs of gum."

In another spot, Burgundy is convinced that the female voice of the Durango's navigation system is a woman trapped behind the dashboard.

So far, the campaign's risky approach is paying off, although it's too early to say if it will significantly boost demand for the vehicle. First, the spots have gone viral, receiving huge viewership on YouTube and elsewhere. And Dodge shares the costs of the spots with the film's producers because the campaign doubles as a promotion for the sequel to the first Burgundy film.

Just five days into the campaign, the first spots had been viewed more than 2.7 million times, according to Visible Measures, which tracks advertising across social media. The numbers put it on par with Automotive News' top viral video for 2013, Volkswagen's...