Ford To Change Ad Track...Again
David Kiley
Automotive News reports today that Ford is about to ditch its uninspiring "Built For The Road Ahead" slogan in favor of "Bold Moves." The online version of the weekly trade journal also say Ford will feature American Idol star Kelly Clarkson
This is the work of new Ford honcho Mark Fields who told me recently that he sees the need to stop changing advertising strategies and slogan every time a new marketing chief takes over or when management thinks monthly sales are dipping because people dont like the slogan.
I'll resist judging a slogan in a vacuum without seeing the creative work to go with it. But "Bold Moves" sounds like it could be a slogan for either Bold laundry detergent or Milk of Magnesia.
Ford's creative product needs juicing up, according to the admissions of both Fields and sales/marketing chief Francisco Codina. Ads are by J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, which was lately responsible for the "Life in D" campaign for the Ford Fusion. You know..."D" as in "Drive." "Life in D." Clever stuff.
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Can Idol change Ford's blue tune?
Dealers applaud new Kelly Clarkson campaign; shares hit lowest level since March 2003
Ford Motor Co. plans to use America's first Idol, Kelly Clarkson, to spread the word that it's changing its tagline.
Ford is ditching the slogan "Built for the Road Ahead" after a little more than a year and replacing it with "Bold Moves," according to dealers and company officials familiar with the plans.
The automaker plans to discuss the tagline and a new advertising campaign starring Clarkson, winner of the first season of the Fox hit "American Idol," at a meeting Wednesday in Dearborn.
Ford is moving to reinvigorate its marketing efforts at a time of continued market share losses and falling stock value. Its shares fell 36 cents Monday to $6.96, a new three-year low. The company reported a $1.2 billion first-quarter loss on Monday.
Ford will continue to use its successful "Built Ford Tough" slogan for pickups. Country music star Toby Keith remains Ford's pitchman for trucks.
The "Bold Moves" slogan dovetails with the company's internal rallying cry: "Red, White and Bold."
Mark Fields, president of Ford's Americas division, has championed more aggressive styling for the automaker's car and crossover lineup. Vehicles like Ford's Five Hundred sedan have been criticized as too bland, especially when compared with the Chrysler 300. The smaller, more stylish Fusion sedan is more in line with Ford's new design direction.
Both the new slogan and the affiliation with Clarkson drew praise from dealers and analysts. Clarkson has recorded several hits since exploding on the scene with "Idol" and has cultivated a squeaky-clean image. And Ford is already a key sponsor of "American Idol," one of most popular shows on television.
"I think she is an excellent choice," said Jerry Reynolds, owner of Prestige Ford, a large dealership in suburban Dallas. "She is not controversial. She real mainstream America."
The tagline is clear and simple, with none of the clumsiness of "Built for the Road Ahead" or its short-lived predecessor, "If You Haven't Looked at a Ford Lately, Look Again."
"It's a matter of tone," said Jim Sanfilippo, a senior industry analyst with Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. "Be bold, that also means to take a risk."
Ford plans to use the "Bold Moves" slogan as a tie-in to offers it will roll out to customers in the next couple months.
Reynolds said dealers have been pleased to see Ford making aggressive marketing moves without waiting for General Motors Corp. to act first and then reacting.
"They're making these plans well in advance without regard to what GM is doing," he said. "Tell you what, that is refreshing and an about-face from what we saw this time last year."
Analysts, though, are still awaiting an about-face for Ford's U.S. sales. Bank of America analyst Ron Tadross cut his target price on Ford's shares from $7 to $6 and said he expects Ford's U.S. market share to drop to 17.2 percent this year from 18.6 percent in 2005 as it faces stiff competition from GM and other rivals.
Jonathan Steinmetz, an auto analyst for Morgan Stanley, said Ford needs to accelerate its cost-cutting efforts as competitors launch new products such as the Toyota Tundra.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...344/1148/rss25
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Ford will kick off television ads for the campaign Tuesday night during "American Idol" on Fox.
The first commercial -- called "Anthem" -- will feature a new song performed for Ford by Kelly Clarkson, a pop star and the first American Idol winner, called "Go."
It will feature images of average Americans living life to the fullest. A series of similarly themed ads will follow.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...604270407/1148
