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
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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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