Ford Celebrates Women's History Month With "Men's Only" Explorer
Occasionally, a company comes out with an ad campaign that is so unique that it takes a few minutes to understand what’s going on. Ford just hit that mark with its new Explorer ad, which celebrates the role women have played in the auto industry by highlighting all the things we wouldn’t have without their contributions.
The Explorer Men’s Only Edition is a joking look at the massive impact women have had on the industry. Bryan Cranston skeptically narrates the accompanying video, in which he discovers that a Men’s Only SUV would come without windshield wipers, GPS navigation, and turn signals. The degree to which turn signals are used in everyday driving depends on the person, but it’s clear that our motoring lives would be significantly less safe and comfortable without the tech and engineering advancements made by women over the years.
Thankfully, we’ve passed the trend of classifying consumer products as being for men or women, but automakers were still trying the concept as recently as the early 2000s. Volvo unveiled its YCC concept car in 2004, which it said was designed to meet the needs of women drivers. A half-century earlier, Dodge tried it with the La Femme, a flop of a car with features the automaker thought would appeal to women.
[Image: Ford]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Clever message disguised as advertising. I can appreciate that.
Is anyone else tired of "insert your favorite demographic" history month?
VoGhost - most of the time when you get this far down in the comments, nobody even knows what you are talking about anymore. I guess you run out of Democratic talking points and the tribble from your mind just comes out.
Why can't we all....oh, never mind...