Ford's first Bronco Sport campaign stars a colt raised by goats

The first of three ads from Wieden+Kennedy New York is a wink to the original '66 Bronco's heritage

Published On
Jan 11, 2021

Editor's Pick

To showcase the rugged Ford Bronco Sport to the public for the first time, the Detroit-area auto manufacturer has enlisted Wieden+Kennedy New York to create a debut ad campaign that emphasizes the 4x4 SUV’s ruggedness and distinguishes it from the other models in the Ford Bronco family.

In “Raised by Goats,” the first of three new TV spots that form the backbone of the new campaign, a herd of the titular animal guides an uncertain colt over harsh terrain, only for it to gain its footing and transform in a dark cave into the 2021 Bronco Sport. After the horse-to-vehicle evolution, about two-thirds of the way through, the remainder of the ad focuses on the vehicle’s ruggedness, exemplifying its tagline: “Built Wild.”

“We thought, what’s our ‘Super Bowl spot’ that’s breakthrough and going to get this vehicle noticed in a big way,” Stuart Jennings, creative director at Wieden+Kennedy New York, said of the ad’s creation during a media showcase this week. (His comment was just a figure of speech, though; a Ford representative has confirmed the automaker will not be airing a commercial during Super Bowl LV next month.)

The goats’ placement in the commercial is a nod to the Bronco’s seven available “G.O.A.T. modes”—shorthand for “Goes Over Any Type of Terrain”—which was also Ford’s original codename for the in-development 1966 Bronco.

In creating the Bronco Sport’s first-ever campaign, Jennings identified three primary objectives for the creative: building Sport model-specific awareness outside of the wider Bronco umbrella; demonstrating the vehicle’s all-terrain capabilities and “adventure-readiness”; and highlighting interior features, such as optimized storage capacity, that let the Bronco Sport serve as a “mobile basecamp.”

To address those objectives, W+K created two other commercials, titled “Go There” and “Find Your Wild,” that round out the campaign’s trio alongside the flagship “Raised by Goats” spot.

The Bronco Sport campaign broke on TV during this psat weekend’s NFL games, and will also air during Monday’s College Football Playoff championship match-up between Ohio State and Alabama. “Raised by Goats” will run first, with the other two ads entering the rotation shortly after.

The campaign is slated to run through the spring on linear TV, as well as via social, digital and connected and addressable TV channels, before Ford’s messaging shifts to focus on the entire Bronco line-up “in the second half of the year,” said Matt VanDyke, the automaker’s director of U.S. marketing. "Raised by Goats" was directed by Imperial Woodpecker's Stacy Wall, with "Find Your Wild" by Lisa Gunning.

The Bronco Sport’s target customers are not “point A to point B people,” VanDyke added, referencing its all-terrain ability to plow through snow, navigate mud and ford rivers (no pun intended). Marketed to chip away at the segment occupied by some competitor models from Jeep and Subaru, the vehicle’s inaugural public messaging is designed to clearly communicate that it’s more than just a commuter vehicle, he said.

Shot on location in Washington’s North Cascades National Park, the production didn’t just put the Bronco Sport through the wringer like its adventurous owners will; it tested the crew’s resolve, too, Jennings said. 

Between an unexpected snowfall, training the troupe of mountain goats, working with animal handlers, and implementing appropriate COVID-19 protocols on set, “It was a very interesting shoot, to say the least,” he said.

Credits

Date
Jan 11, 2021
Client :
Ford
Agency :
Wieden & Kennedy - New York
Executive Creative Director :
Karl Lieberman
Creative Director :
Stuart Jennings
Creative Director :
Eric Helin
Copywriter :
Jake Thompson
Copywriter :
Michelle Smith
Copywriter :
Thea Ryan
Copywriter :
Adam Crouch
Art Director :
Boris Opacic
Art Director :
Amy Wheeler
Art Director :
Mike Lee
Head of Integrated Production :
Nick Setounski
Executive Producer :
Alison Hill
Senior Producer :
Kristen Johnson
Producer :
Ava Rant
Associate Producer and Art Producer :
Tania Sanchez
Associate Producer :
Rodrigo Nino
Production Assistant :
Connor Dean
Senior Art Producer :
Pietro Clemente
Group Account Director :
Mike Welch
Management Supervisor :
Jamie Robinson
Management Supervisor :
Ghada Soufan
Account Supervisor :
Tenaya Ende
Account Executive :
Mac Hall
Assistant Account Executive :
Will Parker
Project Manager :
Yann Samuels
Project Manager :
Nicole Formisano
Head of Planning :
Dan Hill
Strategy Director :
Alix Toothman
Strategy Director :
Newman Granger
Global Director of Business Affairs :
Amber Lavender
Business Affairs Manager :
Anna Beth Nagel
Business Affairs Manager :
Nestor Gandia
Traffic :
Sonia Bisono
Production Company :
Imperial Woodpecker
Director :
Stacy Wall
Director of Photography :
Linus Sandgren
Line Producer :
Mary Livingston
Managing Partner :
Doug Halbert
Executive Producer :
Charlie Cocuzza
Director :
Lisa Gunning
Director of Photography :
Nic Restrepo
Line Producer :
Kristin Porter
Managing Partner :
Doug Halbert
Executive Producer :
Charlie Cocuzza
Editorial Company :
Exile
Editor :
Shane Reid
Editor :
Katie Turinski
Editorial Assistant :
Brett Holman
Editorial Assistant :
Colleen McKay
Senior Post Producer :
LauRenn Reed
Head of Production :
Evyn Bruce
Executive Producer :
Sasha Hirschfeld
Editorial Company :
Joint
Editor :
Matt Burke
Editorial Assistant :
Chris Grissom
Senior Post Producer :
Kari Ickert
Executive Producer :
Michelle Carman
Editorial Company :
Joint
Editor :
Laura Bermudez
Editorial Assistant :
Chris Grissom
Editorial Assistant :
Elaine Green
Editorial Assistant :
Lance Thompson
Senior Post Producer :
Kari Ickert
Executive Producer :
Michelle Carman
Social Editorial Company :
Joint
Editor :
Charlie Porter
Editor :
Cammeron Neely
Editorial Assistant :
Elaine Green
Editorial Assistant :
Lance Thompson
Senior Post Producer :
Kari Ickert
Executive Producer :
Michelle Carman
VFX Company :
The Mill
VFX Supervisor :
James Mullholland
RBG 2D Lead :
Jimmy Bullard
RBG 3D Lead :
James Mullholland
RBG Compositor :
Krissy Nordella
RBG Compositor :
Dhruv Shankar
RBG Compositor :
Jay Lee
RBG Compositor :
Johan Wiberg
RBG Compositor :
Ting-Jung Hsu
RBG Compositor :
Joseph Taylor
RBG 3D Artist :
Rune Mansson
RBG 3D Artist :
Jeff Lopez
RBG 3D Artist :
Eva Kuehlmann
RBG 3D Artist :
David Barosin
RBG 3D Artist :
Michael Davin
RBG 3D Artist :
Daishi Takishima
RBG 3D Artist :
Navdeep Singh
RBG 3D Artist :
Anna White
RBG 3D Artist :
Eban Byrne
RBG 3D Artist :
Todd Akita
RBG 3D Artist :
Tom Bardwell
RBG 3D Artist :
Alek Vacura
RBG 3D Artist :
Eric Xu
RBG 3D Artist :
Jackie Liao
RBG 3D Artist :
Anthony Travieso
RBG 3D Artist :
Casey Reuter
RBG 3D Artist :
Arman Matin
RBG 3D Artist :
Harlan Qiu
RBG 3D Artist :
Lauren Shields
RBG 3D Artist :
Minjeong Shin
RBG 3D Artist :
Aldo Martinez Calzadilla
RBG 3D Artist :
Mario Ercolano
NNW 2D Lead :
Jade Kim
NNW Compositor :
Lucia Hill Barroso
NNW Compositor :
Joseph Yoon
Cabin & BNT 2D Lead :
Siro Valente
Cabin & BNT Compositor :
Ting-Jung Hsu
Cabin & BNT Compositor :
David Reynolds
Be Specific 2D Lead :
Antoine Douadi
Be Specific Compositor :
Katelyn Veneman
Social 2D Lead :
Ben Vaccaro
Social Compositor :
James Cudahy
Social Compositor :
Michael Almodovar
Managing Director :
Barry Parkhill
Senior VFX Producer :
Luis Martin
Associate Producer :
Will Jellicorse
Creative Director :
Nathan Kane
Photography :
The Jude Group
Photographer :
Mike Schwartz
Photo Assistant :
Jay Davalos
Audio Post :
Sonic Union
Sound Designer/Mix Engineer :
Steve Rosen
Assistant Engineer :
Michelle Madias
Producer :
Justine Cortale
Color Company :
CO3
Colorist :
Sofie Friis Borup
Color Producer :
Alexandra Lubrano
Colorist :
Kath Raisch
Color Producer :
Anna Kelman
Music Company :
Walker
Senior Executive Producer :
Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer :
Stephanie Pigott
Producer :
Danielle Soury
Track :
Keep Bouncing Instrumental
Music Supervision :
ELIAS Music
Music Supervisor :
Emily Kimball
Track :
Warfare v2
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervison :
Travis Tucker
Track :
Big Bad Terror
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Track :
Warrior Instrumental
Music Supervision :
Elias Music
Music Supervison :
Emily Kimball
Track :
Drum Circle
Music Supervision :
Finger Music
Music Supervisor :
Ewa Miller
Track :
War Path
Music Supervision :
APM
Sound Design :
Boom Box Post
Supervising Sound Designer :
Kate Finan
Supervising Sound Designer :
Jeff Shiffman
Sound Designer :
Brad Meye
Sound Designer :
Jacob Cook
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Colin Beckett
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Music Supervision :
Gems
Music Supervisor :
Marielle Jade Te
Music Supervisor :
Morgan Thoryk
Music Supervisor :
Andrew Kahn
Music Supervision :
Gems
Music Supervisor :
Marielle Jade Te
Music Supervisor :
Morgan Thoryk
Music Supervisor :
Andrew Kahn
Music Supervision :
Claire Hecamp
Music Supervisor :
Claire Hecamp
Track :
Be Something New Instrumental
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Track :
Be Something New Instrumental
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Track :
Determined
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Track :
Flinty
Music Supervision :
Overcoast
Music Supervisor :
Travis Tucker
Music Supervision :
Gems
Music Supervisor :
Marielle Jade Te
Music Supervisor :
Morgan Thoryk
Music Supervisor :
Andrew Kahn
Music Supervision :
Gems
Music Supervisor :
Marielle Jade Te
Music Supervisor :
Morgan Thoryk
Music Supervisor :
Andrew Kahn

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