Ford Motor Co. plans to promote its own musical theme during tomorrow's Grammy awards broadcast. The car maker has enlisted the hip-hop artist Nelly to pitch the Sony sound system available in its redesigned 2011 Explorer SUV in a 60-second spot to run during the awards show.
The ad is part of a broad effort to get the new Explorer on car shoppers' radar screens. Since launching the vehicle the company has been running a campaign on Facebook that includes videos featuring engineers and a variety of celebrities answering questions about the new SUV. Ford says it modified a video with Nelly into a 60-second television commercial in which the singer and a director debate over the best way to show off the Explorer's stereo.
The Nelly ad is one of three commercials Ford will run during the Grammys. The other Explorer will also use music in promoting the vehicle. It is another example of car companies using splashy, expensive ads during big events to get the biggest possible audience for new vehicles. Last weekend's Super Bowl broadcast saw a wave of auto advertising after two years during which many car companies sat out the big game.
The Ford ad is also indicative of an apparent trend toward big names in hip-hop hawking cars.
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