New Straight-Talking Safety Ads Debut for Award-Winning 2009 Ford F-150 Pickup

New ads tout 2009 Ford F-150 - part of the country's best-selling line of trucks for 32 straight years - as America's Safest Truck

Nielsen IAG calls the current Ford F-150 ad campaign "the most appealing full-size pickup truck advertising"

Research shows increase in purchase consideration of Ford F-150 tied to debut of safety ad campaign

DEARBORN, Mich., March 11, 2009: New television ads began airing this week around the country touting the unparalleled safety features that make the 2009 Ford F-150 America's Safest Truck.

The new safety ads continue the straightforward, no-nonsense campaign launched last fall and narrated by actor Denis Leary.

In rapid-fire fashion, Leary narrates: "All right, so you're driving down the freeway doing about 60 when you notice the guy next to you is steering with his knees, eating a cheeseburger and talking on the phone. And that is exactly why the Ford F-150 is the safest truck in America. It's got a high-strength steel safety cage, side-impact air bags, safety canopy, five-star crash rating, and roll stability control. Because it's not just crazy out there, it's certifiably insane. It's not just a pickup truck. It's the 2009 Motor Trend Truck of the Year."

The 2009 F-150 is the only pickup to earn the government's top five-star crash-test ratings and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's "Top Safety Pick" award. The Ford F-150 also features more standard safety features - including standard Safety Canopy(R) side curtain air bags, AdvanceTrac(R) with RSC(R) (Roll Stability Control(TM)) and a patented "K-bag" seat-mounted air bag - than any other half-ton truck.

"The ads purposely are void of corny gimmicks and flashy stunts," said Doug Scott, Ford Truck Marketing manager. "They are aimed squarely at core truck buyers who use their pickups for work and play and need to see what the new F-150 delivers that other trucks can't."

Consumers appear to be taking notice.

"Crazy Smart," among the first Ford F-150 ads in the series that launched in November, was cited as one of the "Top 10 Most-Liked New TV Ads" by Nielsen IAG, which measures the effectiveness of advertising and product placement.

Getting customers to notice and remember an ad is becoming increasingly difficult in today's day and age when the average American is exposed to more than 3,000 ads each day - from print and broadcast spots to billboard and Internet advertising.

Nielsen IAG research shows that the overall appeal of the new Ford F-150 ads is significantly above the norm. Steve Had, senior vice president of Nielsen IAG, says he believes the ads are hitting a sweet spot with customers because they stand out from traditional truck commercials.

"This is a completely different style, a completely different effect," he said. "You're talking about the capabilities of the truck in a unique and differentiated way that Ford owns at this point in the game."

Dan O'Dell, creative marketing director of O'Dell Advertising in Winnipeg, Manitoba, agrees. He participated in an Internet blog about the new Ford F-150 ads, describing them as "notable, noticed, and communicative."

"The ads grab you, and they make an impression," said O'Dell. "Everything is done in an art style that locks you in."

In addition to capturing attention, the ads are starting to drive purchase consideration.

According to the Brand Equity and Awareness Tracking (BEAT) study, the number of people who said they would consider buying the new Ford F-150 rose 7 percentage points from October to February, when the new ads debuted. And the number of people who said that they intended to buy a Ford F-150 rose from 30 percent to 36 percent. The study is conducted for Ford by Morpace, an international research firm based in Farmington Hills, Mich.

"These ads really are resonating with people who want the usage, the functionality and the capability that the Ford F-150 offers," said David Myhrer, vice president, Brand Strategy Practice, for Morpace. "I think Ford has done an effective job of targeting these ads to people who really have a need for the truck."

The 2009 Ford F-150, which is built at Ford's Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant, has won the following awards and accolades:

  --  2009 North American Truck of the Year
  --  America's safest full-size pickup with 5-star frontal and 5-star
      side-impact crash-test ratings, the highest possible scores, in the
      National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tests.
  --  Motor Trend 2009 Truck of the Year Award(TM)
  --  Top honors as "Truck of Texas" as well as "Best Luxury Pickup" for the
      2009 F-150 King Ranch from Texas Auto Writers Association
  --  Playboy's 2009 Best Pickup
  --  2009 Best Redesigned Vehicle from Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com
  --  "Best Overall Half-Ton Pickup" from PickupTrucks.com
  --  "Automotive Excellence" award in the Workhorse Category from Popular
      Mechanics
  --  Detroit Free Press Truck of the Year
  --  Detroit News Truck of the Year
  --  "Top Safety Pick" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for
      its standard safety technology:  Safety Canopy side curtain air bags
      and AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control
  --  "Residual Value" award from Automotive Leasing Guide (ALG) for
      retaining the highest percentage of its original price among 2009
      full-size light duty pickups at the end of a conventional three-year
      lease, based on ALG projections
  --  Motor Trend's Truck Trend Top 5 Trucks from Specialty Equipment Market
      Association (SEMA) for 2009 Ford F-150 Heavy Duty DeWALT(R) Contractor
      Concept
  --  "Accessory-Friendly Truck" Design Award from SEMA
  --  F-Series is best selling vehicle in America for 27 consecutive years;
      best-selling truck for 32 consecutive years
  --  Best Truck by Florida Monthly