A couple of items in the past few days point to some hope for the US auto manufacturers.

First, it looks like the Congress (along with President Bush…yes he still is president) has come up with a compromise bailout package that will throw at least a temporary lifeline to the Big Three. The main impetus here was the disastrous unemployment announcement last week. The lawmakers realized that the economy is too precarious right now to let another major jobs provider just go down the drain. No one (even Senator Shelby of Alabama, who cares not a whit about union auto industry jobs) wants to be tagged with triggering a "real" Depression. And, make no mistake, we are darn close to that.

But, to me, the more interesting ray of hope for the beleaguered auto industry was the new Ford F150 advertising I caught on TV this weekend. I was able to view five separate spots during the Eagles/Giants game yesterday, and I have to admit, they were excellent. Believe me, this is the first time in a long time that I have said anything positive about car advertising — especially US auto ads.

This new campaign brilliantly features a sharp voice-over by Dennis Leary. The actor and comedian has a very New York sensibility, but his voice and personality fit surprisingly well in these spots for an iconic American truck. The copy is excellent and the F150’s primary benefits really come through. The visuals are fine, although nothing terribly special. Even so, the Leary voice-over really gives the campaign personality and bite. And that is exactly what Ford (and all the US car makers) need right now.

If Ford and its agency can come up with a strong campaign like that, particularly for a make or break product like the F150, then I think the Blue Oval is at least one US car manufacturer that has a future. By comparison, the recent Toyota Tundra ads are anemic, to say the least (the Tundra is Toyota’s "big" pickup that competes with the US models). Toyota makes great cars (I have a RAV 4, and I love it), but they don’t do everything right. In fact, much of Toyota’s auto design work is still chintzy and the advertising is generally lousy.

I also checked out the accompanying F150 launch site and it featured Mike Rowe, the host of the Discovery Channel’s hit show "Dirty Jobs." Rowe and team put the new truck through some difficult paces, all in competition with pickups from Chrysler, Chevy and Toyota. Needless to say, the Ford truck came out on top. It actually was a well done, and very persuasive website.

Good marketing (first, getting the product right) and communications can make a difference, even for a troubled industry. I am pleased to see Detroit developing some effective brand communications for what looks to be a very solid and improved signature truck. Let’s hope there is more of the same from Ford and its US competitors in the future.

And, Dennis Leary is a terrific voice-over talent!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS