Ever heard of the “Defiance” television series on SyFy? That’s OK – we hadn’t either, until we came across this video promoting the Dodge Charger as the vehicle driven by the show’s lead, Josh Nolan (played by Grant Bowler), who is a cop in the city of Defiance (cue Deliverance music here). Julie Benz of ‘Dexter’, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ fame plays the town’s mayor, while  British actress Stephanie Leonidas also has a role on the show, which could be the two main reasons to actually watch it – unless you’re a sci-fi fan that has to be in on the next cool thing.

We admit – after seeing the cast, we may take a gander next week too. Not only has the show been renewed for a second season on SyFy despite premiering just a few weeks ago, it’s also tied in with an MMORPG (that’s “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, for you non-geeks) of the same name that’s tied into the series. 

This unique confluence of media is new to the American viewing public, and with a target demographic that’s solidly in the 18-35 age bracket, it’s a prime place for Dodge to market the car. We’ve seen product placement rise over the last decade or so in television shows, and this “commercial” produced by Dodge does exactly that – places the car right into the middle of the show, and the game, and anywhere else it cam be cross-promoted. Solid marketing? We think so, although we haven’t driven a new Charger to see if it’s capable of living 33 years in conditions that appear to mark the end of the world. Cool vid regardless – but doesn’t anyone use real guns anymore?