- Today's video, we are going to be ducking a hundred Jeeps.

We're starting with the Walmart parking lot across the street.

Let's go.

Duck of the Day.

(guitar music) - [Jason] The videos are all over YouTube.

- And we just pulled up to a gray Jeep Gladiator, so we're gonna give 'em this one.

- People playing a game that sorta of came outta nowhere.

- It's wild.

It's a whole other world out there, these ducks.

Oh my god, you got ducks?

- Oh my God!

I love it.

The game is called, "Duck Duck Jeep," and any Jeep driver who has rubber ducks on their dashboard is playing.

- I like to squeeze stuff.

(toy duck squeaking) - This is fun.

And I see a lot of good collection in couple of Jeeps.

People have like ducks all over.

- It's just like, "Hey, you drive a Jeep, I drive a jeep."

We're basically friends now.

- The game is pretty simple.

A Jeep driver spots another Jeep they like, put a duck on it.

- They placed them on the door handle to where they kind of just stay in a place.

- Like wedged in there.

And there was a little tag on its neck with like a piece of paper.

(uptempo piano music) - [Jason] Jeeps were first used by American troops during World War II, then went public, becoming the first mass produced four door sport utility vehicle.

Jeep drivers then develop their own little thing.

- The Jeep Wave is, is sort of just like an acknowledgement to other Jeep drivers.

- So the Jeep wave has been around for a very long time.

Even back what?

It was probably 20 years ago since I had my last Jeep.

They were waving back then.

- I don't know if it's a peace sign or a rabbit ears, but just a little... - If it's another yellow jeep, I'll hands off the wheel drive with the knee for a second, and double peace signs, or like wave out the window.

- [Jason] But in the last few years the wave got a new companion.

(toy duck squeaking) The rubber duck.

- Honestly, I don't know what's the reason how it's all started.

- I'm really not sure where ducks and Jeeps make sense.

- I don't know how that started.

Are you gonna fill me in on that?

- [Jason] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

- [Jason] The answer lies in Canada, in the small town of Bancroft, Ontario.

- Hi, I am Allison from the founder of Duck Deck Jeep.

I'm the one that started all of Duck Duck Jeep.

- [Jason] It all began as many things do, just by chance.

In 2020, just as Covid restrictions were slowly being eased, Allison Parliament went to a recently reopened department store.

- And they had ducks on the shelf, and I grabbed a bag of them figuring, "Hey, this would be fun to hide around the house."

- [Jason] When she came out, Allison saw really nice jeep out in the parking lot.

And being a new Jeep owner herself, she wanted to leave a note, but didn't have anything to write on.

- I decided to ride on the duck because it was the only thing we had that we could write on.

And I wanted him to know that I appreciated the work that he had put into his rig because it was a beautiful Jeep.

It had new wheels, it was lifted, it was beautiful.

- [Jason] Just as Allison was leaving the duck with the note, the owner came out.

- And thankfully, he had a really good sense of humor and started laughing.

He suggested that not only do we keep doing it, but that we should get social media involved.

So I hashtagged it, "Duck Duck Jeep," and put it on our Instagram.

- [Jason] And within just a few days, it started taking off.

- About four days, we started seeing it everywhere.

I started seeing Jeepers in the US doing it.

I was seeing it pop up in Canada.

We had it pop up in Australia of all places.

- [Jason] Social media spread it like wildfire, as Jeep drivers around the world were introduced to the new game.

- So I remember like a year ago, we were, we were going into Harris Teeter and we came out, and then all of a sudden there's a duck in our car, and I'm like, "What is this?"

And there was a little tag on it, and then it happened again and it happened again.

So all of a sudden we had three or four ducks, and then we're sitting there like, "Okay, what is this?"

And then we researched it and figured it out, and then we bought a few so we could give away to people and everything like that.

So that's kinda how it all started.

- I didn't get it why it is happening, but slowly I started liking it.

And giving it out to other people was also fun.

- My friend Leah is a big Jeep owner, and she could not wait for me to bring this Jeep home.

And she met us in the driveway basically, and she gave us our first duck, which didn't feel genuine or legit.

It was probably about two weeks later though, that we got our first real like parking lot, we're out shopping Duck, and Zoe and I were absolutely thrilled.

- Yeah.

- Alright, I don't know what I've gotten into here, but I guess I'm part of it.

- [Jeff] An estimated 600 plus thousand Jeep drivers across 86 countries are playing Duck Duck Jeep.

And the whole point of the game, simple, spread kindness and fun.

- I think it's so nice, you know, we need more kindness in the world, and I think it's just, it's a great way to just brighten someone's day.

- This is like the new Jeep wave if you will.

Like let's pass on ducks to people.

So, Allison loves it, and Emma loves it, so we just started really getting into it.

- [Jason] For Allison, these last four years have been a whirlwind.

She travels to Jeep related events, and thanks to a dealership, is now driving a brand new eye popping bright neon yellow Rubicon known as "The Mother Ducker."

- It was not the intent for it to go around the world the way it did, but it's a really humbling factor of life for me, even still that it has.

- [Jason] For Jeep owners, it's all fun, with many rotating their ducks with other Jeep owners.

- I don't have any of the original ones anymore except for this one, which one of my closer friends gave to me.

'Cause he drives a Jeep as well.

So it's like, I'm not getting rid of this.

But I think the premise is that like you're just like a temporary holder.

- What's that Duck's name?

- Lucky Duck.

- Lucky Duck.

Yeah.

- And for those Jeep drivers with young kids, the game is that much more fun.

- I like to squeeze stuff (toy duck squeaking) - Can you pick one out for your Jeep?

That's a perfect choice.

I love it.

(laughs) - My kids love to see it, you know.

And they want to see it more and more and more.

- Hook is is the main man here.

He watches over all the ducks, so he's kind of like our captain of the ship, okay?

- Captain.

- We try to not be super creepy, but kind of peek and see, is it a boy jeep or a girl Jeep?

(little girl screams) And if it looks like it's owned by a female, she might pick out one that's got a crown on it, or a unicorn.

And if it's a guy Jeep, or a boy Jeep, she'll pick out something a little more manly.

- Yeah, the girls love it.

Like whenever we're in a parking lot, for example, and you pull up, and Allison will be like, "Park next to that Jeep Park.

Park next to the Jeep.

Let's give 'em a duck.

Let's give 'em a duck."

And then she'd be like, "Don't give away Rufio.

Don't give away Hook."

So she has her favorites that she has, so we have certain ones that we rotate through, and certain ones are untouchable that we can never give away.