Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising, Ford, Toyota
VIDEO: Mike Rowe and Ford take shot at Toyota in latest commercial
The F-150 has been the pickup truck sales king for 29 years, and when Ford redesigned its breadwinner for the 2004 model year, it did so with the intention of remaining number one for the foreseeable future. Well, the current F-150 is still number one in sales for now, but fierce competition from the all-new Silverado and Toyota Tundra means that Ford has to pick up its marketing efforts to keep their full-size truck on top.
This is where Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame steps in. You've seen some of the other Ford spots featuring Rowe here on Autoblog, and now we've got another one for you. This time Ford and Rowe are taking a thinly-veiled shot at Toyota's Tundra for its four-star front impact rating from the NHTSA, which falls short of the F-150's five-star front and side impact ratings. The spot features a Ford safety engineer, who acts as Rowe's strait man. Hit the jump to take a closer look at Ford's latest salvo against the competition.
[Source: PickupTruck.com]
Ford Press Relase
"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."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Chris 10:07PM (5/01/2007)
Anyone else feeling a bit sorry for whoever's in a standard car that a F150 hits?
... at least the F150 passengers will be okay, unless they hit a train.
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Aprime 10:08PM (5/01/2007)
oooooooooooooooooh snap.
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JN 10:12PM (5/01/2007)
I don't know what it is about Mike Rowe, but he rubs me the wrong way. Every F-150 commercial I've seen that he's been in has absolutely made my skin crawl. And the weird part is, I have no idea why. Maybe it's the fact that he sounds like a jerk. Yeah, maybe that's it.
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Petey 10:26PM (5/01/2007)
I dont think ive ever seen a toyota or honda ad where a direct competitor is called out. It smells of desperation.. kinda like when you know youre headed for bankruptcy.
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Will 10:37PM (5/01/2007)
It's not really desperation, ford and chevy do it to each other constantly. Other than that, it's not a very good commercial. Blah
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Talis 10:37PM (5/01/2007)
I know what you mean JN. I like watching him (sometimes) on Dirty Jobs, but even then after a while he just gets annoying. I don't think he sounds like a jerk, but there is something I can't put my finger on.
Anywho, the only truck that did not fair well, as far as I can tell, was the Toyota. All others (Ford, Chevy/GMC, Honda, Dodge, Nissan) had five stars from NHTSA
But! The Chevy/GMC got a "M" where as everybody else (Honda excluded) got a "P" IIHS. So all in all it really doesn't seem to matter what truck you buy. It really all depends on who you want to do your crash testing.
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HotRodzNKustoms 10:38PM (5/01/2007)
#4 you don't watch much TV, I've seen quite a few ads where the Japanese marks directly call out other cars, be them German or Domestic.
Now as for the Ford, it is a great example on why the Japanese will never be able to compete with the Domestic full size trucks, domestic buyers have been and always will be loyal to the end to their Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. The may have the truck to compete, but it will never capture the hearts of American truck buyers.
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the wise one 10:43PM (5/01/2007)
#4 (above): You must be living either under a rock or in denial. Or maybe you have just completely missed the point of the new Toyota Tundra campaign? "Here's our part, here's theirs..." The whole campaign was rather thinly veiled in calling out either the Silverado or the F150 each time. They've been doing it for years (even dating back to the original Tundra).
Toyota started it- they better be able to take it as well. The difference between this campaign and the former Toyota ones is that this one hits a little closer to home compared to some random part they're touting or 3 inches of back seat knee space.
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Brian W 10:47PM (5/01/2007)
Only because it's Toyota!
If we have to put up with the "Look how American we are!" ads from Toyota. How about "Our trucks were building America while you were trying to kill us!"
There is more truth in that!
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bob 10:49PM (5/01/2007)
Car/truck safety is all relative. Real life crashes don't always mimic crash tests. People still die in cars/trucks that are rated the highest by IIHS and NHTSA. The cold hard facts is that no consumer car or truck is 100% safe.
With that said, if you you REALLY wanted to be safe, you'd install roll bars in your car and wear a helmet when you drive.
Thanks for reading.
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Squid 10:54PM (5/01/2007)
Ya just have to love marketing. By the way, wasn't it Ford who was so proud of their bed bolts not too long ago? HAHAHA
If you're interested in seeing what tundra owners really think please come join our site.
http://www.toyotatundraforum.com/
See ya there!
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Earl of Cavandish 11:00PM (5/01/2007)
Unless the Ford guy was in a straitjacket, he would be a "straight man" and not as written.
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SKluck 11:02PM (5/01/2007)
This is a good commercial. It talks about the product, and the improving quality of ford vehicles. Didn't we all hate the BS "Bold Moves" commercials for not telling the American people why they should buy ford cars? Now they are. Show the quality, show the results. Git r done.
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Aaron 11:24PM (5/01/2007)
lmao.. Tundra, fierce competition. Sales barely up after 4 months, and they need to sell over 19,500 a month goal to hit their target of 200k..
that being said Ford has needed better motor in that thing for a number of years now.
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aaron 11:27PM (5/01/2007)
The last generation Tundras were for retirees that wanted a Camry truck and foreigners that wanted a truck (rare of itself) but not something big enough to be useful.
The new ones are awesome, but why pay the Toyota premium when I could spend a little more and get the new Super Duty? Not as reliable (i.e. spewing flames), but I've heard little else negative about them.
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bgdc 11:35PM (5/01/2007)
Chevy's sales of the Silverado are actually falling short of expectations.
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Harrison 11:52PM (5/01/2007)
Not the first time this has happened, I got a DVD last year from the Auto Show where Ford cut away new pickups and mentioned them by name to demonstrate the F150's superiority. Then they raced them and autocrossed them.
Oh, BTW Toyota built TRUCKS for the Japanese Army, not planes like Mitsubishi.
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Nicole 11:53PM (5/01/2007)
So, to reinforce their claim of safety, they run the F-150 against a staight wall - a type of accident that, compared to an offset crash, is relatively easy on the structure of the vehicle, and a very rare constellation in real-life accidents.
Very convincing!
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Barney 12:09AM (5/02/2007)
Gee! They didn't even mention burning up the garage with fire spewing exhaust. Now, that's a safety factor to be proud of. I wonder if GM or Toyota will have an ad showing the owners of Ford pickups, roasting weenies & marshmallows.
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snazzum 12:38AM (5/02/2007)
This commercial is surprisingly mild for Ford. The Ford commercials I hate are the Fusion vs. Accord vs. Camry "Car and Driver" bits. Even Car and Driver slammed the Fusion. Maybe I was told that I could possibly get on national TV if I said something good about the Fusion, I'd say something. . . Not!
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