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Beauty in the machines: precision driving team helps promote Ford’s Focus range

Air New Zealand cooked up a wee gem with its cheesy synchronised skiing clip a few weeks back. And Ford and JWT have also embraced synchronicity with a new campaign aimed at drawing attention to the five cars in its Focus range. 

JWT and Ford have been doing some pretty good work recently, with interesting campaigns like The PassengerFiesta hot sauce and the A Dog’s Show-inspired Fieldays ad. And executive creative director Cleve Cameron says this one aims to continue that trend and re-energise the Focus range.

“The Focus is a fucking awesome car,” he says. “So we’re trying to show what it can do by having a precision driving team [called Focus 5] perform.” 

The campaign tagline is ‘Move your senses’ and Cameron says the ad is currently playing in cinemas in 3D and 2D. He says the decision to use cinema is due to the fact it’s an immersive environment and, during the school holidays, there are also quite a few parents in the theatres with their kids. 

There are also 15 second teaser spots running on TV with the call-to-action of ‘search Focus 5’. And it’s currently putting the finishing touches on a clip that has been recorded in holophonic or 3D sound, so punters can put their headphones on and hear the cars travelling around them. 

The clip was shot at Ardmore Airport by Perceptual Engineering’s Jon Baxter, with sound by Harmonic Studio’s Peter Hobbs. 

While Cameron’s not sure if the drivers will be employed to jump the cars through flaming hoops in the future, he says there’s definitely scope for more activities with the driving team and it may even put on a public event, just like the Parkies, “the premier event in the sport of parallel parking” (speaking of precision driving—of the driverless variety—this recent Hyundai stunt was pretty cool). 

Ford embarked on its ‘One Ford’ mission a few years back and in 2012 Ford claimed the Focus was the world’s biggest selling vehicle (although Toyota disputes this due to the fact that the Corolla is sold under a few different names). In New Zealand, Ford had the second highest total market share behind Toyota in 2013, although it was a long way back from the leader, and as far as specific models go, the Corolla was New Zealand’s best selling model overall, heading off the Ford Ranger, Suzuki Swift and the Holden Commodore. The Focus didn’t feature among the top sellers. But Ford is finding success elsewhere. 

As Bestsellingcars wrote in June: “The Ford Ranger takes advantage of a particularly disappointing month from the Toyota Corolla (#6) to become the most popular vehicle in the country year-to-date with 2,191 sales and 4.4 percent, ahead of the Hilux (4.2%) with the Corolla (4%) kicked down to third place.” 

If the Ranger holds onto this position until the end of the year, the site says it would be the first time since 2007 the Corolla isn’t the best-seller in the country.

Ford has also recently strengthened its partnership with New Zealand Cricket and signed on as Black Caps team sponsor. This means the Ford logo will feature prominently on the playing shirts for all matches in New Zealand and abroad. Ford’s increased sponsorship under the new agreement will also be acknowledged on the playing uniforms of the White Ferns, NZA and NZ Under-19 teams.

Ford has been the official vehicle supplier to NZC since 2009 and, since 2011, also the naming rights sponsor of the Ford Trophy, the country’s premier domestic one-day competition.

Ford has its hands all over sport in this country, sponsoring the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby, as well as Hockey New Zealand and John McIntyre in the V8 Super Tourers.

Credits:

ECD           Cleve Cameron

Creative      Cleve Cameron

Creative      Sam Dickson

Designer      Glenn Chapman

Creative      Fraser Kirby

Creative      Salah Ben-Brahim

GAD           Dominic Henshall

AD            Natalie Allen

AE            Alex Wilson

Head of Interactive    Peeyoosh Chandra

Digital Art Director   Leon Williams

Digital Designer  Miriam Penot

Digital Producer  Fiona Sheffiald & Mel Grogan

Developers        Thi Senaratne & Ralf Klis

Agency Producer   Mary Wall

Director      Jon Baxter, Perceptual Engineering

Producer      Kerry Prenderville, Perceptual Engineering

DOP           Jon Baxter, Perceptual Engineering

Editor            Jon Baxter, Perceptual Engineering

Post Production   Jon Baxter, Perceptual Engineering

SPFX Supervisor   Hannah Walker, Perceptual Engineering

3D Logo Design    Kevin Hyde, Imagecraft

Online Mix & Sound Design            Peter Hobbs, Harmonic

Cinema Finish      Perceptual Engineering & Next Technology

Cinema Master Mix Bruce Langley, Digital Post

Mix for Broadcast Factory Studios

Precision Drivers Downforce

Digital DOP       Nick Fay

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