A decision by Jeep to enlist actor Harrison Ford for a Super Bowl commercial was a last-minute gambit that almost didn't suceeed

"It’s not the in-your-face big splash kind of Super Bowl commercial," Ford tells PEOPLE of his ad for Jeep. "It's a soft sell"Harrison Ford has long forged his own path, both in life and as an American big-screen legend for nearly six decades.

Harrison Ford surprised in a sprawling, narrative-driven and rugged fourth quarter Super Bowl spot for Jeep, directed by James Mangold, in which he encouraged football fans tuning in everywhere to draft their “Owner’s Manual.