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Ford is trying to recover his energy and asks Bryan Cranston to help him do his job. The automaker, faced this year with a drop in stock prices and a careful review of its strategic direction, invited the actor to play the lead role in a campaign full of bluster "Built Ford Proud".
The US campaign, which begins on television this weekend, is Ford's first effort for Wieden & Kennedy New York. The independent store has recently joined the automaker's lineup with the Omnicom BBDO as part of a major overhaul of an agency that resulted in the demotion of the Global Team Blue's Historical agency WPP.
The advertisements are injected with more attitude and braggadocio than the recent marketing of Ford. By weaving historical images with futuristic scenes, Ford is trying to assert that its 115-year-old history is a force at a time when startups such as Tesla have caught the country's attention.
A 60-second spot shows Cranston moving through different scenes and roles, including a speaker at a forum similar to Ted Talks, a president and an android. The futuristic transport scenes are woven with old images of a Ford factory. "Talking does not get things done, but not to build," says Cranston, before ending with "Let the other guys keep dreaming about the future, we will build it." The soundtrack, an orchestral takeover of the Rolling Stones "Paint It Black", recalls the T model and a quote attributed to Henry Ford: "You can have any color as long as it's black."
Cranston has already done dubbing for Ford commercials, but it's the first time that it appears in front of the camera for the builder.
During interviews, Ford executives refused to say that this campaign was a direct blow against Tesla's electric vehicle dealer, whose president Elon Musk, a raucous speech, had the gift of attracting Be careful, somehow. But the implications of the new campaign are clear: when it comes to the future of transportation, Ford is tired of taking the back seat for newcomers.
"Our strategy is really to regain our brilliance and leadership by being publicly proud of what makes us Ford," said Matt VanDyke, Ford's US marketing manager, in a phone interview in Las Vegas, where the automaker showed the campaign to more than 3,000 sellers. "We have not always talked with that tone of voice." "We think you can trust a company that has been building … for 115 years to carry it out in the future, and that's the message we wanted to convey."
TV ad appears on Ford's logo, illustrating the company's family legacy, while contrasting it with companies that are the "result of a merger", which could be a good blow for Ford's rival , Fiat-Chrysler.
Another jovial ad shows a group of Ford trucks on the highway carrying everything from construction machinery to a giant Big Boy statue. "Whatever party you organize on the back, we have the company in the foreground," boasts of a voiceover.
The campaign is supported by a major investment in the media, including purchases in National Football League matches and prime time and late night TV shows. The company is targeting 2.5 billion impressions in the media, leaders said. Full-page ads will be broadcast this weekend in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post. One of the print ads describes Ford's historic achievements, such as the assembly line revolution.
New agency model, big organizational changes
This campaign comes at a time when Ford is undergoing major organizational changes, including the release of the sedan business in North America to focus on the most popular SUVs, crossovers and trucks, while devoting more money to electric and hybrid vehicles. Ford is also targeting "annual efficiency gains" of $ 150 million, as part of what it describes as a "more agile marketing model." But investors have been less than impressed. The company's stock price earlier this month fell below the 9 USD mark, thus reaching its lowest closing price since 2009. The stock fell to 8.51 USD at the close on Thursday, against a backdrop of more generalized market downturn, which caused Dow's fall of more than 300 points.
Ford has announced its new agency model earlier this month, surprising many industry observers with BBDO's choice as the world's leading brand agency. Wieden & Kennedy has been named as a creative and innovation partner for specific projects, while GTB has been retained to handle tasks such as customer marketing and reseller advertising. W & K has been working on the "Built Ford Proud" campaign since the beginning of the year, when it resumed the mission.
Many questions remain about how W & K and BBDO will work together, but it is now clear that the Wieden campaign will determine creative direction in the United States in the near future. "BBDO can bring its creative prowess and truly leverage this campaign for us in the US," said Joy Falotico, vice president of the Ford Group and global marketing director.
The Omnicom store also has the opportunity to exert influence on a global scale, although WPP has retained its status as the leading creative store in China.
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