• by Karl Greenberg , September 30, 2010

Goodbye Major Tom, hello John Slattery. Ford's Lincoln division has a new ad campaign starring the Mad Men actor that introduces a new tag-line, "Smarter Than Luxury. " The campaign debuts on Saturday with a raft of TV spots that feature the 2011 Lincoln MKX and MKZ Hybrid. The ads star actor Slattery. The spots, breaking during the Ryder Cup golf tournament on NBC, Slattery is shown walking around, driving and interacting with the car, all while his voice-over plays.

"We chose John for his authentic, real-world appeal," said Connie Fontaine, Lincoln communications manager, in a company release. "He was the ideal choice to credibly talk to consumers about the appeal for the newest Lincoln vehicles." Ads tout features like Lincoln MKZ Hybrid's fuel efficiency, and the MyLincoln Touch telematics technology.

Print ads use phrases like "Not born yesterday" and "Nobody's fool," driving consumers to Lincoln.com, which features video content on vehicle particulars.