Adventures in Marketing: Ford Bronco Goes Into the Wild

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

A 1970 Dodge ad campaign once said of the viewer, “If you can cope with a whole new image, you could be Dodge material.” Well, today — a week out from what this writer has dubbed B-Day — Ford is appealing to those wild at heart to leave their old lifestyles, and the pavement, in the past.

Are you Built Wild?

You’d better be, otherwise that new Bronco will leave you in the dust.

Shown running alongside a pack of wild horses and plowing through snow, mud, and dirt with the help of massive, balloon-like all-terrain tires, Ford’s returning body-on-frame off-roader officially debuts July 13th, though the automaker saw fit to generate early buzz via a spot titled “Built Wild.” There’s canyons and pines and people with backpacks and a bearded guy sitting next to a campfire (over which he presumably just roasted a squirrel). The husky-voiced narrator once took a shot at Wyatt Earp.

At one point, we see a group of fit older Millennials running through the woods at night towards a luminous object. Nothing spooky about that.

Describing Bronco not as a vehicle but as a brand, Ford announced the creation of four “Off-Roadeo outdoor adventure playgrounds” located somewhere in the U.S. (but probably not Delaware) to give new owners and Bronco intenders the full-on adventure experience they so crave. With Bronco, you’re not just driving an SUV — you’re a member of a community. That’s right: Bronco Nation.

It’s like Saturn, only with less plastic and more campfire stories. Don that flannel and learn to be a better off-roader, fellas and gals.

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • CoastieLenn CoastieLenn on Jul 06, 2020

    If they didn't hire Sam Elliot to narrate this, there was a huge opportunity missed.

  • Lichtronamo Lichtronamo on Jul 06, 2020

    Huh... “You can make the mistake with a family of vehicles if you just start peppering that family with things that don’t live up to the core tenets with what it is you’re building,” he said. “Everything we do … it will have to live up to that same DNA and that same goal that the [MUSTANG] has, otherwise it doesn’t belong in the family. We’re not just badge-engineering. It’s not the name that makes the vehicle, it’s the vehicle that makes the name.”

  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
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