• by Karl Greenberg , May 29, 2015

Ford is going for an emotional positioning, an international audience, and women with its launch campaign for the all-new 2015 Ford Edge SUV. The message is that the Edge, Ford’s mid-size crossover, lets you be unstoppable in the real, urban world. It also features “Fight Song” by Columbia Records artist Rachel Platten.

The target is successful, business-minded people who are likely to be active in sports, eager to try new technology and inquisitive about new tech, per Ford. While the ads pitch men, too, the focus is on women, who have been a key buyer for the category.

The spot kicks off with an aerial shot of a big city, then an overhead shot of a Bronze Edge Titanium, the higher-end trim of the new Edge, navigating the city streets. Driving the Edge is a South Asian woman who offers a note to self in voiceover, saying “2,434,311 people and only one me. I’ll take those odds.” The spots debut the new tagline, “Be Unstoppable.”  

The new campaign, via Team Detroit, debuts May 29 with the national television ad, plus print ads breaking the following week, and a digital campaign later this summer. The automaker says the spots will run on network and cable channels like  Discovery, ESPN, History Channel, MSNBC, TV Food Network, TBS and TNT.

Target publications for the print ads are aimed both at male- and female-centric publications like Bloomberg,Businessweek, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Elle Décor, Food & Wine, Golf Digest, GQ, Real Simple, Shape and Women’s Health.  

Travis Calhoun, marketing communications manager for trucks and utility vehicles for Ford, tells Marketing Daily that the Edge buyer gender split is 50/50, but that female empowerment makes a strong point. He adds that the casting of a South Asian woman in the launch spot was a strategic choice. “When we looked at casting, we wanted to make sure the work would apply in different, global markets.” In Europe, where Ford is marketing Edge for the first time, the utility vehicle will be the automaker’s largest SUV. “[Team Detroit, a WPP unit] is developing assets that can be used around the world.” Also, the city featured in the spot is deliberately hard to identify unless you really know Vancouver. 

There will be three spots, two of the three featuring males, and all focusing on the exterior and interior design, which Calhoun said are key consideration elements, along with connected technology. He says that a digital campaign, which gets more into product attributes, will launch after the summer. “We are looking to develop a large platform for Edge on digital, to draw lower-funnel consumers.” Those, he says, will have a big focus on telematics and infotainment features. 

Demographically, the Edge buyer is a mixed bag, per Calhoun: people in their 30s and 40s looking for family needs; people downsizing out of larger SUV's who don't require that third row; and people moving out of sedans, looking for a lifestyle utility vehicle. 

And people of all kinds are rushing to buy SUVs right now. Ford says Edge sales in the U.S. were up 78% in April compared to the month last year, setting an April record for utility vehicles. Ford reports that last year it  sold an all-time-high 1.4 million SUVs worldwide, up 11% from 2013.