Ford shifts toward purpose with ‘Euphoria’ star Sydney Sweeney

Dive Brief:

Ford Motor Company is launching its latest campaign under its “Built Ford Proud” tagline, the first of its kind for the carmaker in three years, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
The effort, meant to spotlight Ford drivers and their passions, includes partnerships with actor Sydney Sweeney, stunt driver Dee Bryant and surfer Kai Lenny, who each will appear in individual ad spots and launch separate initiatives connecting Ford to their interests.
Made in collaboration with agency partners Wieden+Kennedy New York, Artemis, Mindshare, VML and BBDO, activations will span social media, connected TV and broadcast, limited-edition merchandise and CRM content. The move signals a shift by Ford to integrate more emotionally driven tactics into its marketing.

Dive Insight:

Ford’s latest effort sees the carmaker shifting away its traditional tactics under the “Built Ford Proud” tagline — which have historically focused heavily on Ford vehicles and equipment — to focus more on the people behind the wheel and the causes they stand for.

Central to the effort are partnerships with Sweeney, Bryant and Lenny — each featured in their own commercials — selected for having unique ties to the Ford brand. Sweeney, known for her lead role in the HBO series “Euphoria,” was recruited based on her passion of restoring vintage Ford vehicles, which she highlights in her TikTok channel Syd’s Garage. Elevating her platform comes at a time when only 2.1% of mechanics are female, per release details. Through the tie-up, Sweeney will host an Auto 101 TikTok series on her channel and will also debut her female-focused workwear collection made in collaboration with Dickies.

Stunt driver Bryant, who has appeared in previous Ford commercials, will launch a social media series, called “Stuff Only Dee Should Do,” featuring the 2024 Mustang. The driver, one of a limited number of African American women in the industry, uses her platform to battle inequality and is the founder of nonprofit Association of Women Drivers. A final partnership with big wave surfer Lenny, who uses Ford’s F-Series Trucks to haul equipment, will yield a line of limited-edition surfboards, each designed with colorways matching the trim levels of Ford’s Super Duty Truck. Eight surfboards from the collection will be donated to the Positively Kai Foundation, the surfer’s Maui-based charity.

Ford’s latest move is joined by other recent efforts centered around highlighting underrepresented groups. For Women’s History Month, the carmaker at the beginning of March unveiled a tongue-in-cheek video, called “The Ford Explorer Men’s Only Edition,” that jokingly reimagined the vehicle without features that were developed by women, including heaters, windshield wipers and turn signals, among other tools. The company also shared social media content during the month of February highlighting Black History Month. “Built Ford Proud” may become a larger part of Ford’s marketing, with the company recently filing to trademark the slogan.

As Ford pivots its “Built Ford Proud” messaging to include more emotionally driven messaging, others in the auto landscape have taken similar tactics. For example, a recent advertisement by Kia that debuted during Super Bowl LVII, titled “Binky Dad,” highlighted the capabilities of the Telluride X-Pro through the story of a dad rushing to recover a forgotten pacifier. Ad spend in the auto industry is one of the only sectors to not be impacted by an ongoing marketing slowdown, with the category seeing spend grow 9% year-over-year in January, according to the latest findings from Standard Media Index.