PRESS RELEASE
Ford Announces Safety Alliance with Sesame Street
28 March 1997
Sesame Street Teams with Ford on Safety Campaign
NEW YORK, March 27 -- When you see Big Bird, Rosita and Zoe
cruising down Sesame Street in Oscar's Sloppy Jalopy, you can bet they'll be
sitting in the back sea wearing safety belts.
Ford Division is teaming with Sesame Street to reach young families with
the messages, "Buckle up with Big Bird" and "Ford and Sesame Street Educate
Families Together."
As announced today in New York and Washington, D.C., Children's Television
Workshop (CTW) -- the producer of Sesame Street -- will work exclusively with
Ford over the next three years to spread the automotive safety
message first and then to focus on environmental and ecology messages. Ford
and CTW will concentrate on safe seating practices and wearing safety belts
for the automotive campaign.
"Ford believes it has a major responsibility to educate children and
parents on automotive safety," said Ross Roberts, Ford Motor Company vice
president and general manager, Ford Division. "We believe an excellent way to
let our customers know that Ford cares about them is to enlist Sesame Street
as our partner. Very few organizations can deliver an effective safe riding
and driving message that is so appealing in the way Sesame Street can.
"Because Sesame Street is one of the most-watched programs in the world of
children's television, we believe we have found an excellent channel for
getting the very important safety message out to millions of parents and
children," Roberts said.
"CTW reaches out to families and adult caregivers to enhance the lives of
children in their care," said David Britt, CTW president and CEO. "We partner
with companies that share our vision of raising healthy families. The
strategic alliance with Ford is a three-year commitment to raising awareness
of another important issue, occupant safety," he said.
Partners in Safety
Ford and CTW will develop safety messages with Sesame Street characters in
live appearances, broadcast advertising public service announcements (PSA), a
website and custom publishing. The Ford Windstar was chosen to help deliver
the partnership's messages because it is equipped with more than 40 standard
safety features and also earned the five-star federal government crash-test
rating for providing the best protection of any minivan. Windstar is the only
minivan in the industry to receive this rating.
Ford and CTW will coordinate several wide-reaching safety campaigns. CTW
will design and produce a 16-page magazine on automotive safety, which will
reach 4 million homes. Two 3O-second PSAs will air on television and a safety
content area will be created for the CTW website. The safety message will
appear in print and on television along with Windstar advertising. The
magazine and broadcast material will be produced in English and Spanish.
The Sesame Street characters will make their first safety appearances at
the New York Auto Show. Plans for other special safety events are under way.
Buckle Up with Big Bird
Ford and Sesame Street will urge children and their parents to observe
these safety practices:
* Always wear a safety belt while driving or riding in a car or truck.
* Children are safest riding in the back seat.
* The use of approved child safety seats is recommended for children
weighing less than 40 pounds.
* Rear-facing child seats always should be placed in the back seat of
vehicles or in the front seat of Ford trucks equipped with air bag
deactivation switches.
* Seats should be moved as far back as possible from air bag.
Ford Says Thanks
The automotive safety campaign with Sesame Street is one of several
community and education programs sponsored by Ford as a way of giving back to
the communities in which its does business. It also allows Ford the
opportunity to thank its loyal customers through the education of their
children.
Ford is the world's largest producer of trucks, and the second-largest
producer of cars and trucks combined. It sells more than 70 vehicle types
worldwide, marketed under the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar and Aston Martin
brands. In October, the company built its 250 millionth vehicle. Ford also
is one of the largest providers of financial services worldwide through Ford
Credit, The Associates and related businesses.
An Entertainment and Education Powerhouse
CTW, founded in 1968, is the world's leader in educating and entertaining
children having reached more than 120 million children in more than 130
countries. The company's expertise extends over a range of media, including
television, home video, software, publishing and licensed products and
community outreach efforts. CTW can be accessed through its home page at
http://www.ctw.org.
CTW reaches more than 11 million children and parents through Sesame
Street in the United States and has nearly 8 million readers of its
publications, Sesame Street Magazine, Sesame Street Parents, and Padres de
Sesame Street. It is estimated that 96 percent of all American children have
seen Sesame Street by the age of 3.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
CONTACT: Brenda Hines of Ford, 313-446-7736; or Beatrice Chow of
the Children's Television Workshop, 212-875-6586