Bold Move: Reflecting Divorce In An Ad Campaign

Has anyone else noticed the storyline of the recent "Bold Moves" campaign television spot for the Ford Freestyle?  It starts with a mom and dad in the front seat of the SUV-like vehicle (I didn't focus on all the specifics of the car, in my non-linear way), smiling at their kids laughing in the back, and then later, if I recall correctly, the scene moves to the whole family having fun on the beach. 

Pretty usual car ad stuff.  If you aren't paying attention, however, you might miss the last scene wherein the father is dropped off and thanks the mom for inviting him to join the family for that trip.  The kids say "bye, Dad," and the mom drives them off.

Wow!  It shouldn't be so bold a move for an ad to reflect this reality, but it is.  The divorce rate in the U.S. is 49%, after all.  Still, I can't remember seeing another ad (let me know, if you have) that really just told it like it was. 

The truth is that today, more than ever, and perhaps because there is much less taboo about divorce than in decades past, a lot of divorced couples figure out how to coexist amicably for the sake of keeping some of the "family" stuff in their kids lives.  It really caught my attention and I thought the tone was pretty representative of what I've seen my friends in this situation do.

And, while dropping off dad isn't a universal experience to which all current or prospective Ford customers can relate (so it might have seemed like a risk for the brand's marketing team)  - the segment of Ford's market that is divorced with kids will notice and likely give the brand extra points for relevancy.  Ford narrowed their focus for this particular ad, and that made it all the more effective.

In general, I've been impressed with this overall "Bold Moves" effort by Ford. The television ads have caught my eye, and the companion site has a good "feel" to it, - as far as content and the general writing style.  The brand does seem to be walking the walk a bit more in letting customers know what's going on in all their re-vamping, and perhaps that will help U.S. auto brand-shy consumers trust Ford a teeny bit more.  And, that's probably the point.

This campaign, and this particular Freestyle ad get a good grade in my book, for all those reasons.

Grade: A-.  Good/fresh concept (reflecting the divorce reality). Good execution. Good multi-channel consistency... and all that.

Comments

[Stephanie Weaver]

Yes, Andrea, I noticed this commercial last night and it also caught my attention. More so with a double-take... did they just say goodbye to the dad? And if so, are they divorced? Surprisingly subtle for a car ad. I agree with you, a very nice way of keying into this audience.

[Andrea Learned]

I got an email from a friend in the UK after I posted this, and the paraphrase of his thought was: it's nice to see some ads treating adults like adults. And, that is the gist of it, isn't it?

[Andrea Learned]

This just in - there's a piece in today's New York Times referencing this same ad and discussing how ads are starting to reflect this non-nuclear family more. Here's the link (and thanks to Michael St. Germain for the heads-up!):
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/17/business/media/17adco.html
?ex=1156478400&en=2203d550ec87c63d&ei=5070&emc=eta1

(Registration required, as always)

[Andrea Learned]

This just in - the Chicago Tribune ran a story today about the Ford Bold Moves and the strategic move to reflect less traditional lifestyles: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610290493oct29,1,2637500.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

Reg. required, of course - but it gives you a few different opinions on whether or not representing a divorced family was a good idea or not. I still think it was.