Ford this weekend will return to Formula 1 for the first time in more than 20 years in partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, and the automaker will mark the occasion with an extension of its global “Ready Set Ford” campaign, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
Rather than relying on standard commercials, Ford is utilizing Apple TV’s sequential ad capabilities to turn ad breaks into a narrative, “micro-docuseries” that connects the engineering required in F1 race cars to the Ford vehicles that can be driven off lots across the world.
“We're using Formula 1 on Apple TV to show exactly how the extreme research and development tested in the world's harshest racing environments translates directly to the consumer. That's not a marketing line. It's absolutely real, drawing a line between Ford racing vehicles and the tech inside vehicles like the F-150 Raptor, Bronco Raptor and the new EV electric truck that's on its way,” said Michael Cope, senior director of Ford Consumer Marketing, on a press call detailing the campaign.
The “Every Ground Is Our Proving Ground” platform includes an eponymous 30-second spot that mixes slow-motion and real-time footage to connect dirt and determination to performance across vehicle and race categories. The effort also includes a 30-second spot about Ford's history in off-road racing and 15-second spots about how parts are engineered for F1 cars and its F-150 Raptor truck, respectively.
“Standard commercials aren't cutting it,” Cope said. “We're going to use this broadcast to tell a different kind of technology story, and it's important that it's understood how well this translates to consumer vehicles.”
The F1 formula
Along with its partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, Ford is the title sponsor for F1 practice sessions and qualifying races for the entire season. The automaker’s return to the grid comes as the sport continues to see increased attention from consumers as well as major marketers including PepsiCo, Heineken, Lenovo and Celsius.
Running streaming ads on Apple TV, the exclusive broadcast partner for F1 in the U.S., allows Ford to more effectively target different audiences, from F1 enthusiasts to consumers in the car-buying market, Cope told Marketing Dive.
“It's allowing us to sequentially place these spots such that the first 30-second piece is able to be then followed up with real intention, with more of a engineering explanation of what's required in order for us to compete at the very highest level,” Cope said. “It gives us more flexibility on a number of fronts.”
Ford began rolling out “Ready Set Ford” in September 2025, unifying its marketing under one global campaign for the first time in more than 15 years. Previously, the brand had debuted the “Built Ford Proud” tagline in the U.S. in 2018. The marketer’s work around F1 ladders up in the “Ready Set Ford” platform’s focus on core audiences: builders, adventurers and thrill-seekers.
“The premise of this campaign is true capability is proven in the extremes, and capability is the number one consideration we have across all of ‘Ready Set Ford,’” Cope explained. “As it pertains to thrill-seekers, we're able to target them with messages to educate them on the real, incredible, authentic connection between the things we race and the things that we sell.”
Along with the Apple TV ads, the F1 campaign will be a multichannel effort, including social, digital, on-site, out-of-home, linear TV and connected TV, with messaging resonating differently depending on format, channel and even time of day.
“We've got a flywheel that we talk about,” Cope said of Ford’s full-funnel approach. “It's 12 different channels… that communicate the same message, but in a slightly different way.”
