Things have changed a bit since this model came out
Why does Ford’s new SUV ad target divorcés?
The ad begins with ho-hum familiarity. The stock shots of the smiling family; the artfully filmed vehicle; the announcer’s cheerful pitch about fuel efficiency. We’re waiting for the lease/buy figures to pop up on screen when … BAM! With no warning, we find ourselves in the grip of a stern domestic drama. The music goes quiet. Dad gazes wistfully at mom, thanking her for this time with his kids. Mom looks back with wet eyes, barely able to muster a reply. The camera pulls out and we see Dad standing alone, with his sad little duffel bag, in front of what one reader termed the “Recent Divorcé Condo Complex.” And we’re left wondering: Why did this SUV ad turn into Kramer vs. Kramer?
The answer, surprisingly, has something to do with Ford’s miserable balance sheet. Ford’s market share has tanked, it may soon sell off some of its brands, and the company has announced an overhaul plan it calls—with a Maoist flourish—”the Way Forward” (which largely boils down to closing factories and cutting jobs). In the midst of this crisis, Ford has also launched a broad new marketing effort with another curious name: “Bold Moves.”
The notion is that Ford is in such desperate straits, it will take nothing less than Bold Moves to save it. The concept is somehow both an internal rallying cry and a marketing strategy. And this is where the divorced-dad spot comes in. It’s meant to show us that Ford is up to something new.
That commercial makes me laugh.
Yeah. And not in a good way. It’s amazing just how far both ford and we as a nation have fallen that this seems like a good and/or effective message to be sending.
“Ford – the car company for those who failed at marriage.” Brilliant.
Ha. The mom should be laughing. She probably took dad to the cleaners for alimony.
Most male and female divorcees I know have been pretty poor, maybe she got the car in the settlement?
i’m divorced and this commercial will be about as effective as the “drink Schlitz or I’ll kill you ads of the 1970s”
Buy Ford! emotionally disturbed american unite!
this reminded me of an older commercial.
http://tinyurl.com/qw3om
They employ the greatest marketing team on the planet.
Should I mention I drive a Mustang?
Ford has lost the coveted youth market, which has the potential to build brand loyalty. My Grandfather bought a Ford Model A, that Dave used in the photo, in 1929. He and most of his children was always loyal to Ford products. We have a younger generation that views American cars as an inferior product. Maybe Ford and GM is still paying for the abominations of the 70’s and 80’s. I owned several Amercian cars during that period, and frankly they did stink in design and production quality. I don’t think it still true. The last two Ford cars I owned never went into the shop. That’s eight years of ownership, and few problems.
The last (and I do mean LAST) Ford I had (and will ever have) was a 1998 Ranger Truck. It was a nightmare of reliability, spending many weeks in the shop, repeatedly. Ford deserves whatever befalls them.
Tom
Ford and GM both have the same problem – they make great full size trucks and SUV’s. Everything else they build, with the exception of the newest Corvettes and possibly the newest Mustangs blow chunks. They definitely can NOT build a car worth buying for the average citizen. They should be giving daily thanks that rental car companies and government agencies exist, no one else wants their crap.
I have a Chevy Silverado and it’s a great truck. But the thought of driving a GM car other than a Z06 makes me ill. The American car companies are going to die because they can’t build something fuel efficient that people want.
You can’t build brand loyalty by building junk, no ads can help you. I owned (sorry to say) one of each American “big three” models, from new, from 1990’s decade. Brakedown rate: Ford 3000-5000 mi; GM 6000-7000 mi; Chrysler 10000-12000 mi. Same roads, drivers, conditions, maintaince,… Japanese cars (Mazda, Honda ’90’s; Subaru 2002) we owned: Mazda, TWO repairs, at 58000 mi and 80000 mi; Subaru THREE repairs 54000 mi, 96000 mi, 125000 mi; Honda ONE repair at 117000 mi, car died in the total with the jacknifed tractor trailer at 176000 mi, protecting me to the last moment: despite totally destroyed front I opened door and exited uninjured…. That is how you build brand loyalty (particularly with people who drive a lot as me and value reliability over all).
Ford (and GM for that matter) could have still been far above the other car companies if they had manufactured what people people wanted instead of selling shitty cars that fall apart after five-six years. Greed worked just this long… but hey, greed is not good… there’s an end to it.
Toyota is rightfully going to take the place as the biggest car manufacturer. Cheers to the Japanese for taking pride in delivering what consumers want (okay, maybe not Sony… but hey, no nation is perfect…).
Ford has nice European models. I drove a Ford Focus C-Max which looked like the following:
http://tinyurl.com/kre9v
It was nice, very comfortable, with a good set of features and had relatively economical diesel engine. It was a real joy to drive.
About the ad – What in tarnation …
About the guy who was saying the big three were only bad in the 70’s/80’s – my parents bought a 95 Windstar when it was a couple years old – the thing was in and out of the shop so often it wasn’t even funny.
Women rule the planet, and we let’em… What can I say more? This is a profoundly sexist ad… Why not the other way round? Then maybe GUYS would buy the SUV. But that’s not how it is in real life, women always get the upper hand in divorces. The SUV AND the kids… It’s now so easy. Relationships are even more discardable than cars… One doesn’t work? Just dump it and go down to the supermarket get another one…
>>>> Everything else they build, with the exception of the newest Corvettes and possibly the newest Mustangs blow chunks.
I’m sorry, but a “new” car of any type with a solid rear axle is ludicrous in this day and age. I can’t take the Mustang seriously without IRS.
Tom
Daimler buying Chrysler was the best thing to happen to them. They still need to learn something about basic trim, but otherwise the new crop of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles are pretty cool.
Rumor has it that this is the first in a series of commercials for the auto maker. Dr. Phil will soon be driving up in his Volvo as he helps the couple return to marital bliss.