• Ad Age, Wednesday, May 3, 2006 11:30 AM

Ford Motor Co., frustrated by sluggish sales, apparently believes the answer to its woes lies in increased advertising spending. The automaker has announced it will support its Ford Division with the biggest year-over-year ad-spending increase in the company's history, starting this quarter. "It's time to go on the offensive," said Mary Lou Quesnell, marketing director of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury in North America. Details were not revealed, but last year the company spent $894 million in measured media on Ford, its best-selling brand, a 10 percent drop from 2004, according to TNS Media Intelligence. The announcement was made at an event in which the Ford brand's new "Bold Moves" umbrella ad and marketing campaign was unveiled. The plan includes an integrated two-year pact with "American Idol" and two-time Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, whose new song, "Go," was featured in ads that broke last night during the show. The new campaign also includes a 'Bold Moves" Web site and a reality TV show in which participants design their own car. In April, Ford's U.S. vehicle sales declined by 9 percent to 214,824 units compared to last April. But in the first four months of 2006, Ford said it sold 36 percent fewer vehicles, or 831,724 units vs. a year ago.

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