Ford's latest campaign stresses unity following Capitol riots
Ads by Wieden + Kennedy New York debuted Saturday and will run in Inauguration
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Ford Motor Co. today will begin running new 30- and 60-second ads that stress unity following riots this month at the U.S. Capitol that left 5 dead.
Called "Builders," the spots focus on the ability of Americans to come together and create, featuring images of construction workers, nurses, firefighters and other volunteers.
"Look to the builders," actor and pitchman Bryan Cranston says in the commercials. "No matter what goes wrong in this country, they're out there. Follow their lead. The ones serving and building others up…Look to the people who don't give up on their principles when times get tough."
The ads do not make direct mention of the Jan. 6 riots, in which supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the Capitol building attempting to stop Congress from certifying the results of the Nov. 3 election. But they were produced less than a week after the attack by Wieden + Kennedy using scenes from previous Ford commercials.
"In tough times, Ford and our country have always come together and built things – vehicles, tanks, even relationships," Kumar Galhotra, president, Americas & International Markets Group, said in a statement. "This spot shows from our perspective where our nation should focus – on the fixers, the builders, the ones who can bring us together."
The ads debuted Saturday during college basketball on Fox. They will also begin airing on more than a dozen cable stations the same day. Ads will also run during coverage of Joe Biden's Inauguration, a Ford spokesman confirmed to Ad Age.
The spot is the latest in Ford's "Built for America" series of commercials that began running last year. Among other topics, they highlight Ford's U.S. manufacturing commitment as well as its effort to build personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Michael Martinez is a reporter for Automotive News.
Credits
- Date
- Jan 19, 2021
- Client :
- Ford
- Agency :
- Wieden & Kennedy - New York
- Executive Creative Director :
- Karl Lieberman
- Creative Director :
- Stuart Jennings
- Creative Director :
- Eric Helin
- Copywriter :
- Jake Thompson
- Art Director :
- Boris Opacic
- Head of Integrated Production :
- Nick Setounski
- Executive Producer :
- Alison Hill
- Senior Producer :
- Kristen Johnson
- Associate Producer :
- Tania Sanchez
- Group Account Director :
- Mike Welch
- Account Director :
- Phil Pennington
- Account Supervisor :
- Guy Campbell
- Account Executive :
- Tyler Smith
- Assistant Account Executive :
- Alycia Washington
- Project Manager :
- Yann Samuels
- Head of Planning :
- Dan Hill
- Strategy Director :
- Alix Toothman
- Global Director of Business Affairs :
- Amber Lavender
- Traffic :
- Sonia Bisono
- Production Company :
- Imperial Woodpecker
- Director :
- Stacy Wall
- Director of Photography :
- Rachel Morrison
- Line Producer :
- Timory King
- Managing Partner :
- Doug Halbert
- Executive Producer :
- Charlie Cocuzza
- Editorial Company :
- Exile
- Editor :
- Shane Reid
- Editor :
- Matt Murphy
- Editorial Assistant :
- Brett Holman
- Senior Post Producer :
- LauRenn Reed
- Head of Production :
- Evyn Bruce
- Executive Producer :
- Sasha Hirschfeld
- VFX Company :
- Preymaker
- Maker :
- Angus Kneale
- Maker :
- Greg Cutler
- Maker :
- Kevin Quinlan
- Maker :
- Mikey Smith
- Maker :
- Randy Krueger
- Maker :
- Zach Fortin
- Maker :
- Brandon Phillis
- Maker :
- Chrisitian Heyes
- Maker :
- Verity Grantham
- Audio Post :
- Sonic Union
- Sound Designer/Mix Engineer :
- Brian Goodheart
- Producer :
- Justine Cortale
- Color Company :
- CO3
- Colorist :
- Tom Poole
- Color Producer :
- Alexandra Lubrano
- Music Company :
- Walker
- Executive Producer :
- Sara Matarazzo
- Executive Producer :
- Stephanie Pigott
- Producer :
- Danielle Soury
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