Check it out at DodgeNitroMeltoff.com

Chicagoans to Melt Ice-Encased Dodge Nitro
Chicagoans are in for a meltdown via a campaign from Dodge that will pit two teams against each other to melt away a 2007 Dodge Nitro encased in 30,000 pounds of ice.


Teams will attempt to melt away an
ice-encased Dodge Nitro on
Chicago's North Avenue Beach

Dubbed the Dodge Nitro Hot Shots Melt-Off Challenge, the event takes place Sept. 22 (the last official day of summer) at Chicago's North Avenue Beach, a hot summer spot for Chicagoans. Two two-member teams will use various tools to strike up enough heat to melt away the ice. Members of the team that defrost the ice the fastest to unlock the Nitro's door (its keys also encased in ice) will each win a 24-month lease of a 2007 Dodge Nitro.

For a chance to enter, Chicago residents within a 40-mile radius of the city must register at DodgeNitroMeltoff.com by Sept. 13. During registration, consumers will be asked to register as teams of two, and submit a 100-word essay answering the following questions: Why do you melt at the thought of driving an all-new 2007 Dodge Nitro and why do you consider yourselves hot shots?

"Dodge wanted to do something cute and clever that has to do with the...hot car in a growing market and thought the Nitro needed to be cooled off a little bit," said Dodge spokesperson Jodi Tinson. The Chicago market was chosen "because it's a top Nitro market where its four-wheel drive is good for Chicago's winters, and it's a hip market where young people grow, work, live and play."

P.r. efforts and radio spots support. Chicago-based ClearBlue handles the event and will ship in 16 slabs of 1,500 pounds of ice to be fused together around the Nitro.

"Anytime we can get the Dodge name out there and help people understand how the brand's growing, that's always good," Tinson said. "This is a great way to build awareness as the Nitros will be arriving in dealerships shortly thereafter."

The Dodge Nitro is the brand's first mid-size sport-utility vehicle. Dodge is a brand of Auburn Hills, MI-based DaimlerChrysler Corp.

Anybody from Chicago register for this event?