• by Karl Greenberg , October 31, 2009

On Oct. 29, Ford had its new Taurus SHO (Super High Output) featured in a late-night comedy sketch. Both the car and Amy Marentic, Ford's Taurus marketing manager, appeared on Conan O'Brien's "The Tonight Show" in a skit that lasted for about eight minutes and was very close to a commercial for the Taurus.

Why? It seems O'Brien has featured his own beat-up 1992 second-generation Taurus SHO on a number of occasions. The conceit was O'Brien challenging Ford to better his aged vehicle.

In the skit, O'Brien made jokes about the new Taurus and about Marentic, his old Taurus, his ancient on-board cell phone, and claustrophobia. During the interlude, he climbed into the trunk of the new Taurus and appeared to be stuck there as days reeled by, until Marentic opened the trunk -- really just 30 seconds later.

Marentic, who says she was surprised that the piece went on as long as it did, tells Marketing Daily that the deal was put together by Al Uzielli, who runs Ford's product-integration shop, LA-based Ford Global Brand Entertainment Group. "[Uzielli] worked the deal and it just worked out really well," she says. "Because Conan's a big fan of the SHO, when [Uzielli] brought the 2010 model to him, and he drove it, it was something that fit really naturally. The reason it worked is -- it is credible because of Conan's history with the car."

Ford says the original Taurus SHO still has owners and enthusiasts -- a club with more than 1,000 members -- and an online forum with more than 10,000 registered users and a Web site (bringbackthesho.com).

Wes Brown, auto market analyst at Iceology, Los Angeles, says the real benefit of getting Taurus on a show like Conan's is familiarizing younger consumers with the new version of the old nameplate.

"I think we have to look at what you are going to get from this," Brown says. "You aren't going to get someone going, 'I have to buy the car tomorrow' -- but the reality is you don't see an ad and do that either. This was a way for them to build familiarity, and very positive opinion about the brand and about Taurus. Awareness is irrelevant for Taurus because most people have heard of it."

On the other hand, Brown says, familiarity is critical. "Consumer perception of Taurus is based on the car 10, 15, 20 years ago. You need to make consumers familiar with the current lineup in a way that doesn't feel commercial. You can't put a dollar value on that screen time that shows the car in a humorous, positive light."

Meanwhile, on "The Jay Leno Show," Ford has a battery-powered prototype electric version of the Ford Focus featured in a weekly featured called "Green Car Challenge," where different celebrities drive the vehicle. The company also just completed an NFL integration around Taurus on Fox Sports' pre-game show. In addition, the Taurus is being featured in the new USA Network cop series "White Collar."

"We are absolutely looking for more integration opportunities," says Marentic.