• by Karl Greenberg , September 5, 2008

Ford Motor is relying on new media to carry the message about its newest crossover vehicle, the Flex. In addition to traditional media--a pair of 30-second TV spots launching nationally this week as well as outdoor and traditional print--the effort includes electronic animated print ads in Esquire, digital movies, applications for iPhone, Xbox, and Yahoo; and a program for Dish TV. 

The digital ad in Esquire's 75th anniversary October print issue uses electronic paper display technology from Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink. Images and words on the front cover and on the Ford Flex double-page ad inside the front flap will appear to move.

"We see it as a vehicle with a very electric personality, always in motion, and that is how it connects to the target customer," says Usha Raghavachari, Ford crossover marketing communications manager. "That was the brief we gave, and Esquire was one of a number of partners who came back with an idea that brings the vehicle to life in an electric way." She adds that the magazine indexes with the young single and married affluent target. "Our target spends a lot of time online and on consumer magazines."

The effort drives traffic to FordFlex.com--which has, among other content, four two-minute videos on the Flex that use computer graphics to travel in and around the vehicle, and place it in different urban landscapes to show off features like navigation, telematics, interior space, exterior design and handling. Ford engineers and designers narrate.

A mobile version of the site is central to Flex iPhone tool that lets people alter photos taken on the Apple device. The application links to the videos and Flex product information. Consumers can do likewise via banner ads on Yahoo's Go 3.0 for smartphones and on Dish TV via "Flex Dish Showcase," which allows users to view Flex info via Flex commercials or the Dish interactive program guide.

On traditional TV, Ford has the Flex doing a star turn on CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Starting this week and for the next eight episodes, Flex appears in a series of skits that follow Ferguson's cousin along with his band, the Highlanderz, as they road trip in a Flex from L.A. International Airport to the CBS studio in New York.