- Ford Motor Company is launching its latest campaign under its “Built Ford Proud” tagline, the primary of its kind for the carmaker in three years, in keeping with details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The effort, meant to highlight Ford drivers and their passions, includes partnerships with actor Sydney Sweeney, stunt driver Dee Bryant and surfer Kai Lenny, who each will appear in individual ad spots and launch separate initiatives connecting Ford to their interests.
- Made in collaboration with agency partners Wieden+Kennedy New York, Artemis, Mindshare, VML and BBDO, activations will span social media, connected TV and broadcast, limited-edition merchandise and CRM content. The move signals a shift by Ford to integrate more emotionally driven tactics into its marketing.
Ford’s latest effort sees the carmaker shifting away its traditional tactics under the “Built Ford Proud” tagline — which have historically focused heavily on Ford vehicles and equipment — to focus more on the people behind the wheel and the causes they stand for.
Central to the hassle are partnerships with Sweeney, Bryant and Lenny — each featured in their very own commercials — chosen for having unique ties to the Ford brand. Sweeney, known for her lead role within the HBO series “Euphoria,” was recruited based on her passion of restoring vintage Ford vehicles, which she highlights in her TikTok channel Syd’s Garage. Elevating her platform comes at a time when only 2.1% of mechanics are female, per release details. Through the tie-up, Sweeney will host an Auto 101 TikTok series on her channel and can even debut her female-focused workwear collection made in collaboration with Dickies.
Stunt driver Bryant, who has appeared in previous Ford commercials, will launch a social media series, called “Stuff Only Dee Should Do,” featuring the 2024 Mustang. The driver, one in every of a limited variety of African American women within the industry, uses her platform to battle inequality and is the founding father of nonprofit Association of Women Drivers. A final partnership with big wave surfer Lenny, who uses Ford’s F-Series Trucks to haul equipment, will yield a line of limited-edition surfboards, each designed with colorways matching the trim levels of Ford’s Super Duty Truck. Eight surfboards from the gathering will likely be donated to the Positively Kai Foundation, the surfer’s Maui-based charity.
Ford’s latest move is joined by other recent efforts centered around highlighting underrepresented groups. For Women’s History Month, the carmaker at first of March unveiled a tongue-in-cheek video, called “The Ford Explorer Men’s Only Edition,” that jokingly reimagined the vehicle without features that were developed by women, including heaters, windshield wipers and switch signals, amongst other tools. The company also shared social media content in the course of the month of February highlighting Black History Month. “Built Ford Proud” may turn out to be a bigger a part of Ford’s marketing, with the corporate recently filing to trademark the slogan.
As Ford pivots its “Built Ford Proud” messaging to incorporate more emotionally driven messaging, others within the auto landscape have taken similar tactics. For example, a recent commercial by Kia that debuted during Super Bowl LVII, titled “Binky Dad,” highlighted the capabilities of the Telluride X-Pro through the story of a dad rushing to recuperate a forgotten pacifier. Ad spend within the auto industry is one in every of the one sectors to not be impacted by an ongoing marketing slowdown, with the category seeing spend grow 9% year-over-year in January, in keeping with the newest findings from Standard Media Index.
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