automotive

Ford Continues Fusion Push: Competition Invisible

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Print ads for the new Ford Fusion car show competitive cars becoming diaphanous when the Fusion is in the picture (thanks to on-vehicle paint schemes designed by artist Liu Bolin). Now the automaker has launched three TV spots supporting that idea -- the message being that the Fusion is cool enough to render everything else so irrelevant as to cease to exist. 

The effort, via Team Detroit, comprises a raft of ads that launched this week, and shows a lot of cars on highways, bridges, or wherever suddenly vanishing to be replaced by just one car -- the Fusion. One of the ads shows the Fusion driving off a cliff as a way to show that there’s one thing the Fusion can't do (fly). 

The theme of the campaign, which builds on the Ford's “Random Acts of Fusion” digital series starring Ryan Seacrest, is that it's a midsize sedan that people really notice. The ads tout the vehicle's design and consequent fuel economy shown to be a function of both looks and EcoBoost engineering. Ads also tout the Fusion line as ultimately comprising both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid model. 

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The company says the TV spots will air on prime-time networks around various broadcast sporting events. In addition to the ad that makes other vehicles vanish, and the off-the-cliff ad, there is a third that shows other cars moving backward while Fusion moves forward. 

Meanwhile, Ford says its “Random Acts of Fusion” campaign will be extended through the vehicle launch in digital and social channels. The automaker says one such video has Ford surprising a guy (not an actor) who is skeptical of the Ford's EcoBoost engine. Ford shows up at Michael’s door with a new Fusion and takes him out for a hot lap on a nearby racetrack. 

Hopefully for Ford, the new Fusion will grab the baton and regain ground lost by the late-model car, which was in need of a major makeover, and a bit winded on the final stretch: while year-to-date sales were about flat, October Fusion sales were off about 30%. Right on time for a change. 

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