Last night Ford launched a new TV campaign that apparently recognizes some of the company’s difficulties. I have to admit, I haven’t seen it yet, so I won’t comment on content or execution. What I will say is that it will take more than a TV campaign to turn around what is rapidly becoming a nightmare for CEO Bill Ford Jr. Titled “Rebirth,” the commercial is supposedly the latest in an innovation-themed campaign that started last fall featuring the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford. In the spot, the current Mr. Ford talks about the automaker’s commitment to “retake the American roadway.” Believe me Bill, advertising isn’t going to do it. As Bill Bernbach once put it so well, “Great advertising can only sell a bad product once.” A senior Ford executive reportedly said, “Americans really do want to buy American brands, as long as they are competitive with the imports.” And if you believe that, then Wall-Mart will be out of business next week. American consumers simply want the best deal. Unless Ford gets its act together, it will eventually go out of business, and tens of thousands of ex-employees will be lucky if they can afford to shop at Wall-Mart. As another Ford exec states, “The challenge going forward is to give our customers, employees, retirees, dealers, suppliers and investors a reason to believe in Ford.” It’ll take more than a 30 second spot to do that!
Any color you want. As long as it's black... Ah, those were the days!
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