No roads. Only rocky mountains and high sand dunes. And a four-wheeled beast making its way through tough terrains. That’s what most car advertisements look like. Ford’s latest EcoSport ad is different though. The campaign titled ‘The Uncomfortable Question’, featuring a father-daughter duo, goes for an emotional connect with viewers, urging them to make safety a priority when buying a car.
The campaign is inspired by a Twitter survey by Ford that shows about 70 per cent of 22,000 respondents didn’t rate safety as a priority for buying a car, even though 11 per cent of all road accidents in the country result in a fatality.
According to Rahul Gautam , Vice-President, Marketing, Ford India, “There has to be a change in the mindset. It is a priority for us as a manufacturer, but it has to be the top priority for consumers too. I understand affordability could be a concern. So we ensure all our products with six airbags are available at an affordable price. We are making it accessible, affordable and democratising across segments. With our latest campaign, we want to communicate that safety should not be a choice, but a priority.”
The TVC, conceptualised by Global Team Blue, looks to position the brand’s focus on safety through the conversation between father and daughter on safety in the back seat and air bags.
Says Sachin Ambekar, vice-president and executive creative director of Global Team Blue, “We find people in India are extremely protective of their family. They use every means to protect them. With the help of this campaign, we are pushing consumers to think hard and evaluate the choices they make when it comes to car purchase as well.”
Gautam adds, “Sixty years ago, Ford was the first automaker to offer factory-installed safety belts. Our legacy of safety innovation endures to this day. We are providing safety features in our cars not because we have to but because we want to and see it as our responsibility. That’s why our vehicles today boast of several class-leading and segment-first features for all-around protection. Besides a strong-built, our cars ensure unmatched levels of safety with advanced equipment such as EBD, Hill Launch Assist, MyKey and Traction Control & ESP to keep vehicle occupants safe.”
The integrated campaign will be also seen on social, digital, print, radio and mobile platforms.
BW Reporters
The author is special correspondent at Digital Market Asia, is fascinated by the evolving digital media industry, and has focussed on tracking developments in the field in Asia Pacific.
