• by Karl Greenberg , October 1, 2014

Ford is hitting the ignition button on its 2015 Mustang with a marketing campaign that partners with culture brands and publishers to create branded content and five ideal road trips.

For the “Icon Fifty” initiative, the automaker is tapping Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos for music, Zagat for food, ESPN The Magazine for sports and Mashable for technology, plus one more partner to be named later.

The goal is to promulgate a list of 50 innovators (for Mustang's 50th birthday), 10 for each partner, each of whom will make their group of innovators central in some way to a road trip they will design. The fifth collaborator will be named when Ford begins to roll out consumer events. 

Ford Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Sales and Service Jim Farley said that because Mustang is central to what the Ford brand represents (rather than being an outlier vehicle that has become its own brand), and the connection between Mustang and both the American road trip and American automotive culture in general, it makes sense to go beyond the sheet metal.

"There's something more to the company than just selling cars,” Farley said at a press conference Tuesday. “We are going to talk about what it's like to be on a road trip with no schedule and no agenda."

Using digital will amplify that, he adds.

Scott Burton, executive editor of ESPN the Magazine, tells Marketing Daily that Mustang will be integrated into a section of issue dealing with up-and-coming, breakthrough athletes. 

As the campaign theme is the ‘15 Mustang as a gateway to new experiences, Ford also used the event to offer up some results of an attitude study it commissioned. It finds that 42% of Americans can't remember the last time they tried something new. And people don't take risks because they fear failure (27%), fear embarrassment (26%), aren't motivated (26%), feel too old (23%) and don't think they have time (20%).

The study also asserts that 45% of Americans on social think their friends/followers act more adventurous on social media than they actually are. 

In the past year, per the results, 59% of Americans are likely to have tried new cuisine for the first time, about 24% new travel experiences, 19% new music, 13% art, 11% sports and 11% new educational programs. Sixty-nine percent of Americans say their bucket list includes specific places to visit (e.g. the Taj Mahal), 42% said excursions and 37% items they'd like to own. Conceivably, the Mustang would answer all three.