In stark contrast to its competitor, or in a bout of cheeky one-upmanship, Ford chose to license Metallica’s Enter Sandman as the soundtrack to the commercial – one of the most iconic heavy-metal tracks of all time. Its use was meant to both set the film tonally at odds with the RAM TRX film, which featured an acoustic cover of Mr. Sandman, and stoke the fires of competition between the two brand’s fan bases, which audiences immediately picked up on. The song has only been licensed commercially once before, as it is Metallica’s most closely guarded jewel. Its opening bars are immediately recognizable to most audiences – especially to the target audience for the Ford F-150 Raptor – so it was an obvious choice to usher in the next generation of America’s favorite high-performance off-road truck.