• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Adpulp

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas

  • About
  • Ad People
  • Featured Creative
  • Political Advertising
  • Content
  • Social Media
  • Media Trends
  • Contact

JWT Attempts A Bold Move By Interviewing A Ford Critic

November 6, 2006 By Dan Goldgeier

Over at The Truth About Cars, editor Robert Farago talks about his trip to JWT’s New York office to discuss Ford’s “Bold Moves” Internet-based efforts.

As soon as our chat commenced, I discovered that “transparency” was the name of JWT’s game. My bright eyed and tie-less adtagonist wanted to know if I– or anyone else– gave Ford props for letting JWT’s camera crew record, edit and post a “warts and all” look behind the scenes of the automaker’s recent struggles. To his credit, the ad guy didn’t seem to care when I said nobody (other than industry wonks and highly paid advertising executives) cared about Ford’s bold new blog. He remained unperturbed when I declared that the films had about as much edge as a beach ball, and that Ford is doomed. Like I said: editing.
Later, as I watched the sun set over Connecticut, I concluded that Ford and JWT just don’t get it. Using the internet as an alternative channel for corporate PR– no matter how “hard hitting”– isn’t a bold move. It’s the same old you-know-what in a different wrapper. As for the interactive part of the program, the “Ford responds” section of the site is a cruel joke. An anonymous Ford rep– no name, title or email– answers a carefully selected question. Surfers post their reactions. Then… nothing. It’s a total disconnect between consumer passion and Ford reaction that highlights the company’s ignorance, arrogance and intransigence.

I recently bought a car, and the shopping experience alone could fuel a few AdPulp postings and Talent Zoo columns as I truly didn’t have one car model I was hell-bent on buying. For what it’s worth, I made what was for me was a Bold Move and test-drove a Ford Escape Hybrid. The salesman couldn’t tell me anything about the hybrid system itself. Needless to say, he blew a potential sale.

Related

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Art of Advertising

About Dan Goldgeier

Dan Goldgeier is a Seattle-based freelance copywriter with experience at advertising agencies across the U.S. He is a graduate of the Creative Circus ad school, and currently teaches at Seattle's School of Visual Concepts. Dan is also a columnist for TalentZoo.com and the author of View From The Cheap Seats and Killer Executions and Scrubbed Decks.

Primary Sidebar

About

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas. Launched by David Burn and Shawn Hartley in 2004. Read, shared, and debated by a rogue group of ad pros ever since.

Breaking News

  • Spotify’s In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar April 21, 2018
  • Hot Desert, Cold Brew April 18, 2018
  • Frustrated Fido? Walk It Out With Rover April 14, 2018
  • What Marketers Can Learn from Hootsuite Academy April 12, 2018
  • Minute Maid Questions What Good Is, Decides, “this is GOOD” April 11, 2018
  • Are You Open to the Massive Business Opportunities in EQ? April 10, 2018
  • My Y Story: A Star-Studded Original Content Series by the Y April 8, 2018
  • Tim Horton’s Has The Coffee That Brings Canadians Together April 7, 2018
  • Take the Long Way Home in a Citroën April 7, 2018

Get Adpulp in Your Inbox

Receive an email notification when we publish a new article.

Navigate by Topic

Connect

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on E-mailFollow Us on RSS

Inkl Up!

Help support Adpulp with financial contributions on a per-post basis. Sign up for @Inkl today.

Footer

Translate

What People Are Reading

  • Spotify's In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar
    Spotify's In-House Creative Team Is Raising The High-Bar
  • Spotlight on NW Creative: Nike Makes A Better Box
    Spotlight on NW Creative: Nike Makes A Better Box
  • Georgia's Peach New And Improved. Tagline Is Another Story.
    Georgia's Peach New And Improved. Tagline Is Another Story.
  • It’s A Book. It’s An App. It’s Do or Die And It’s Innovative.
    It’s A Book. It’s An App. It’s Do or Die And It’s Innovative.
  • Hyperbole Alert
    Hyperbole Alert

Search the Site

Hours & Info

Off Madison
[email protected]
Always on.