Ford gets
feisty in new F-150 commercials starring Mike Rowe - emphasizing
the truck's higher government crash test ratings over some of the competition.
Here's Ford's
press release below:
"To
illustrate the 2007 Ford F-150’s continued leadership in safety,
strength and capability, Ford picks apart its half-ton competition in
two new ads starring Mike Rowe,
creator and star of Discovery Channel’s
hit show, “Dirty Jobs.” In this second round of Ford
F-150 ads since January 2007, Rowe is joined by two hard-working Ford
truck engineers as they highlight the F-150’s superior features.
“The Ford F-150 is built consistently with better parts that give
it more strength and capability to help customers get more work done,” says
Barry Engle, general manager, Ford Division Marketing. “That’s
how you build 30 years of truck leadership.”
In the first
ad, Rowe and Paul Angove, a Ford truck suspension engineer, review
leaf spring bolts used by Ford and four key truck competitors. Angove
highlights how the Ford F-150’s bolts are the biggest and strongest.
Since these bolts take on some of the heaviest suspension loads, they
are key in making the 2007 Ford F-150 the strongest, most capable truck
in its class.
In the second
ad, Rowe and Bill McDonald, a supervisor in Ford’s
crash barrier facility, watch an F-150 in a dramatic crash test. McDonald,
a 29-year Ford veteran, shares with Rowe that the 2007 F-150 received
the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s)
highest safety rating (five stars) for driver and front passenger, a
rating some top truck competitors have not earned. The safety
ad begins airing on national television on May 1, followed shortly afterwards
by the leaf-spring bolt spot. The ads will be
accompanied by similar print and online ads.
The ads
were inspired by a “Truth
About Trucks” campaign
Ford launched in 2003 to enumerate the F-150’s lengthy list of
under-the-skin advantages versus competitors. The campaign in
broadcast, print and point-of-purchase advertisements has communicated
to customers that F-Series trucks are stronger and more capable than
competitors with the straightforward “Built Ford Tough” product
promise. This consistent message enjoys decades of brand equity,
nearly matching Ford’s truck leadership for an unprecedented 30
consecutive years.
The new
ads starring Mike Rowe, as well as other print and online communications,
will reinforce these under-the-skin advantages that continue to make
the 2007 Ford F-150 the leader. Ford dealers
also are capitalizing on the F-150’s leadership story by distributing
it to sales consultants through videos that detail the truck’s
numerous advantages."
