The latest incarnation of the campaign launched 4/5 to boost Spring sales. This is the third effort on the concept Ford began 2007, where real owners of competitors’ cars and trucks are given a Ford to drive for a week and then discuss their reactions. The ads — running over the next two months — feature people previously skeptical of Ford products expressing surprise at the quality and technological innovations they discover. The timing is good with the high gas prices of late, as the effort includes Three Fords that get 40 mpg/hwy. The effort starts this week and will appear through at least the end of May.
:30 Television ads, which began running 4/5, include placement on Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Criminal Minds, CSI, Bones, The David Letterman Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They also will run during the NBA and NHL Playoffs. Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery’s “Dirty Jobs” this time chats with groups of “Swap Your Ride” participants around backyard tables.
Print ads highlighting the fuel efficiency of Ford products will appear nationally in USA Today and Parade magazine.
Radio and multicultural is also a part of the buy. Radio spots will air regionally and locally.
And extended-length digital advertising for Swap Your Ride will appear on a variety of sites including AOL, Google and Yahoo as well as automotive-specific sites such as www.cars.com, www.Edmunds.com and www.kbb.com.
Multicultural is delivered through Spanish-language television spots and through commercials designed to connect with the African American community.
The Hispanic ads feature Cristian de la Fuente, a popular Chilean-born international actor, model and author. Ford’s 2010 Spanish version of Swap Your Ride featuring de la Fuente broke through at high rates to the Hispanic television viewer and is a finalist in the Spanish TV Advertiser of the Year category for the 2011 Nielsen Automotive Television Advertising Effectiveness Awards.
The spokesperson for the African American ads is Boris Kodjoe, an Austrian-born actor and former fashion model perhaps best known for his role as Damon Carter on the Showtime television drama Soul Food.
Via Team Detroit’s JWT Y&R Retail First, consumers in the ads were chosen from a pool of about 200 people in southern California and the ads were shot and produced in LA.
Also included is a fresh round of incentives being rolled out with the campaign, including a $180-per-month lease on a Fiesta to 0% interest and $2,500 rebate on F-Series trucks.
