• by Karl Greenberg , April 13, 2009

Ford's campaign for the 2010 Mustang is tailored for a digital crowd, but it is also a testament to how tight automakers' marketing purse strings have gotten. In the past, Ford has advertised its most famous car with integrated campaigns, including national TV media buys on Super Bowl Sunday (in the case of the '05 model).

Ford's new effort is a lot thriftier, with print and PR elements centered on a Web promotion that gives a select few consumers the chance to live out their Mustang-enabled fantasies.

The campaign, called "10 Unleashed," drives consumers to www.the2010mustang.com, where they have until Aug. 15 to submit a brief essay about their ideal Mustang experience. Ford says submissions will be judged based on creativity, uniqueness and execution of idea. Winning submissions will be selected every few weeks, and the winners will make their Mustang experience into reality.

Ford spokesperson Alan Hall says 4 of the 10 selected will be racers and celebrities tapped by Ford to generate buzz. The first is Ford Racing and Falken Tire Mustang drift racer Vaughn Gittin, Jr. who traveled to Japan with a 2010 Ford Mustang to fulfill his dream of racing there. The resultant videos are featured on the Web site.

"Ford will shoot video for the other six; and just as we did with [Gittin's] Japan trip, we are leveraging a lot of these events from the PR standpoint."

The site launched last year as the media locus to tease the latest-generation Mustang and show the unveiling of the vehicle at the L.A. Auto Show. Hall says the car is just now shipping to dealers.

Print ads will drive consumers to the site. Outreach efforts include showing the vehicle at Ford and Ford Mustang Club of America's 45th anniversary celebration of the car next week in Birmingham, Ala., sponsorship of Road America's Historic races and other owner-club events.

The newest model of the automaker's halo nameplate is coming in tough times. Ford sold only 3,711 of the cars in March -- a 63.5% drop versus the month last year, even with incentives. Year-to-date sales of the current-generation car were off 60.6%, per the company.