Taking their market into consideration, Ford's marketing is getting Edgy for the Ford Edge (pun intended). Kelis (Kuh-lis for you old fogies) is a beautiful rapper who's created a name for herself in a decidedly tight industry segment.
The Edge campaign focuses on her personality and her star power to breathe life into the new brand:
The ad campaign, created by the Uniworld Group-Detroit, will kick off at Kelis' Dec. 18 celebrity holiday party at New York's Capitale nightclub and include radio, TV, and print advertising. Ford will give partygoers a glimpse of the campaign.The radio spot features a song that Kelis (pronounced "Kuh-Leese") wrote specifically for the campaign entitled "Push it to the Edge" that will begin airing on Dec. 20. The radio spot features a cameo introduction of Kelis and her song from Ford spokesperson and hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex. The spot will run on national syndicated radio shows like The Steve Harvey Morning and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. Kelis is also scheduled to participate in various Edge sweepstakes giveaways on the radio shows beginning in February.
The television commercial, entitled "On the Edge," will feature Kelis and the "Push it to the Edge" track. It will begin airing in late December on major network stations throughout the country.
The print ad campaign for the Ford Edge Kelis campaign, entitled "Shattered," will run in major urban publications such as Jet, Ebony, Upscale and Sister2Sister magazine.
The campaign targets specifically women in their mid-thirties with an active lifestyle but is expected to create excitement among men as well.
The Kelis "Push it to the Edge" campaign will also be an integral part of Ford's new urban web site, www.FordUrban.com, that will be launched at the end of December. The site is designed to attract and engage urban buyers with creative video content, third-party reviews, customer discussion rooms and downloadable music, say Ford officials.
The car, supposed to be one of the vehicles that will assist Ford in their hoped-for turnaround made it to dealerships on Dec 7.
