Ford taps Sydney Sweeney, Dee Bryant and Kai Lenny for new ‘Built Ford Proud’ work

Three of the automaker’s most famous customers—and their vehicles—star in the new multichannel campaign

Published On
Mar 22, 2023
Actor Sydney Sweeney with text overlay that reads "Built Ford Proud"

Editor's Pick

Ford has tapped five agency partners—and a trio of celebrity Ford owners—to revitalize its “Built Ford Proud” ad campaign with a new multichannel marketing push.

Featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, big wave surfer Kai Lenny and professional stunt driver Dee Bryant, the series of ads were crafted to take “Built Ford Proud”—dormant for three years before now—in a new direction. The new spots center on the stars’ connections to and pride in their vehicles: a restored 1969 Bronco, an F-Series pickup truck, and a number of Mustang sports cars, respectively.

 

The work was developed in collaboration with five agencies—Wieden+Kennedy New York, Artemis, Mindshare, VMLY&R and BBDO—and will see a widespread multichannel rollout in the coming weeks across social, digital and broadcast and connected TV, with each spotlighted Ford owner getting a commercial that tells their story.

“The campaign springs from a simple notion: Ford drivers do amazing things with their vehicles,” Eric Helin, global executive creative director at W+K, said in a statement. “These aren’t isolated examples, or one-off collabs with celebrities, they’re authentic stories,” he said, noting that he hopes the new “Built Ford Proud” work is “just the beginning of telling” Ford owners’ stories.

In addition, there will also be a number of video and merchandise tie-ins with the campaign’s three stars.

With Sweeney, known for her roles in hit series including “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” Ford will be debuting a “female-forward workwear collection” that it’s producing in collaboration with Dickies, according to a statement from the company. In support of the campaign, she will also host a series of vehicle maintenance tutorials on her TikTok channel, Syd’s Garage, which boasts 1.5 million followers.

 

With Bryant, who co-founded the nonprofit Association of Women Drivers and is known as one of the entertainment industry’s only Black female stunt drivers, Ford arranged for her to show off her skills behind the wheel of a new 2024 Mustang in a series of social videos titled “Stuff Only Dee Should Do.”

And with Lenny, who’s based on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Ford worked to create a line of surfboards with colorways that match the automaker’s Super Duty trucks. Eight of the custom Ford boards will be donated to Lenny’s charity, the Positively Kai Foundation, which works to inspire youth on Maui to pursue their passions.

 

The work is a departure from the original themes of “Built Ford Proud,” which was first launched in 2018.

“We talked a lot about our creds as an automaker and why people should believe in us” during the original “Built Ford Proud” marketing push, Helin said. “But as we looked at continuing it this year, we wanted to turn the spotlight and attitude outward—toward the millions of drivers who get behind the wheel of a Ford vehicle every day.”

The new work is scheduled to run through the end of June.

Credits

Date
Mar 22, 2023
Agency :
Wieden & Kennedy - New York
Agency :
Artemis
Agency :
Mindshare
Agency :
VMLY&R
Agency :
BBDO
Chief Creative Officer :
Scott Dungate
Global Executive Creative Director :
Stuart Jennings
Global Executive Creative Director :
Eric Helin
Copywriter :
Jen Hubbard
Copywriter :
Tedd Wood
Art Director :
Marcus Yuen
Art Director :
Laura Bailey
Head of Integrated Production :
Nick Setounski
Executive Producer :
Jessica Griffeth
Senior Producer :
Sam Pasquesi
Associate Producer :
Connor Dean
Print Producer :
Ashley Mehall
Studio Manager :
Jill Kearton
Senior Studio Artist :
Mike Nesi
Studio Artist :
Charlie Silva
Studio Artist :
Winnie Tseng
Retoucher :
Elizabeth Riley
Retoucher :
Kevin Walker
Retoucher :
Gabriela Ponce
Global Managing Director :
Mike Welch
Account Director :
Tenaya Ende
Account Supervisor :
Emilia Pittelli
Account Supervisor :
Via Lim
Account Executive :
Jessica Peterkins
Account Executive :
Yasmain Hamood
Global Strategy Director :
Alix Toothman
Brand Strategy Director :
Alex Danks
Comms Strategy Director :
Amelie DeBlois
Associate Comms Director :
Alexandra Marin
Senior Social Strategist :
Liana Holland
Director of Project Management :
Yann Samuels
Senior Project Manager :
Nicole Formisano
Head of Global Business Affairs :
Amber Lavender
Business Affairs :
Sara Weeks
Head of Traffic :
Sonia Bisono
Content Manager :
Tina Wyatt
Temp Production Designer :
Ben Vaughn
Production Company :
Florence
Director :
Sportscar
Executive Producer :
Ned Brown
Line Producer :
Lisa Brugliera
Director of Photography :
Evan Prosofsky
Editorial Company :
Joint
Editor :
Matt Burke
Post Producer :
Kari Ickert
Executive Producer :
Michelle Carman
Editorial Assistant :
Spencer Cohen
VFX Company :
Preymaker
Creative :
Angus Kneale
Production :
Verity Kneale
Production :
Clairellen Wallin
Production :
Katherine Lannon
Production :
Jessica Sroczynski
Creative :
Adam Lambert
Creative :
Nicholas Tayler
Technology :
Brandon Phillis
Technology :
Christian Reyes
Technology :
Paul Cardon
Creative :
Paul Downes
Creative :
Kieran Walsh
Creative :
Shannon Lee
Creative :
Jamie Scott
Creative :
Simon Holden
Creative :
Ben Weaver
Telecine Company :
Company 3
Colorist :
Tom Poole
Producer :
Shannen Troup
Mix Company :
Therapy Studios
Mixer :
Eddie Kim
Mixer :
Dillon Cahill
Producer :
Sara Gill
Executive Producer :
Margaret Ward
Music Company :
Antfood
Producer :
Kat Hom
Executive Producer :
Sue Lee
Executive Creative Director :
Wilson Brown
Music Artist :
Cubby
Composer :
Cubby
Music Company :
Barking Owl
Executive Producer :
Ashley Benton
Creative Director :
Kelly Bayett
Music Artist :
Fetish

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