Ford breaks mould with ‘carless’ ad for Ka

Ford says the TV campaign for its latest model, the Ka, will be the first in car advertising history to include commercials which do not actually feature the vehicle.

While the accompanying press and poster campaign will show the unusual design of the Ka, at least one of the TV executions will concentrate instead on the image and lifestyle of the model’s prospective purchasers. Ford’s agency for the Ka is Ogilvy & Mather.

Ian McAllistair, Ford UK chairman and managing director, says: “I have challenged the agency to come up with an ad that never shows the car.” McAllistair says the innovative design of the Ka was well-suited to an unusual advertising approach.

Sara Bamber, Ogilvy & Mather media strategist on the account, says: “The car is such a different vehicle that its entire launch will not be business as usual. The commer cials will not be what is expected.”

Nissan is the only car advertiser in recent years not to feature the car in the launch advertising campaign – instead its ground-breaking push through TBWA showed a cartoon of the Nissan Micra.

Ford’s Ka will go on sale on October 15 and the TV ads are expected to appear a week later.

Ford has not released the price of the new model but industry in siders believe it will be pitched below the Fiesta, at about 6,000 to 6,500.