The campaign, launched last fall as the vehicle entered showrooms, ranges from its first “La Linea” television ads comparing the C-Max and Prius hybrids to appearances on reality shows, such as “The Taste” and “American Idol.”
DEARBORN- Ford Motor Co. is attributing some of its success of luring Toyota Prius customers to C-Max hybrids to its unique ad campaign.
The campaign, launched last fall as the vehicle entered showrooms, ranges from its first “La Linea” television ads comparing the C-Max and Prius hybrids to appearances on reality shows, such as “The Taste” and “American Idol.”
“We had a strong launch and are pleased with the overall reception of the C-Max launch campaign,” said C.J. O’Donnell, marketing and strategy manager, Ford Electrified Vehicles, in a statement. “But this is just a start; we intend to take a much larger share of the hybrid market.”
Preliminary Nielsen data show the “La Linea” (Italian for line) ad campaign for C-Max hybrids is resonating well with consumers, according to Ford. The ads follow the adventures of the nameless and speechless Italian “La Linea” character popularized in the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s traversing a never-ending line and often frustrated by obstacles encountered.
In the Ford campaign, the character constantly being frustrated by the limitations of the Toyota Prius v, but is saved by the C-Max.
The next phase of the ad campaign, according to the Dearborn-based automaker, will include the “La Linea” character and play a key role in in the ABC reality cooking show “The Taste.”
According to Ford, the vehicle will be a “key part of challenges” on the March 8 episode and the overall winner, to be announced March 12, will be awarded a C-Max Hybrid.
Ford has continually gone after its largest competitor, the Toyota Prius, in numerous of the ad campaign, and it appears to be paying off.
Ford’s share of the hybrid market grew nearly 9 percentage points between December 2011 and December 2012, while Toyota’s share dropped 8 points.
Additionally, initial sales data show C-Max hybrids are bringing new customers to the Ford brand, with conquest rates remaining above 60 percent since launch; Toyota Prius and Honda CR-V hold the top competitive trade-in spots.
The C-Max series, along with a host of other electrified vehicles from Ford, including the Ford Focus Electric and the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, due out in early 2013, are part of the automaker’s plan to have 10 to 25 percent of its global fleet electrified by 2020.
C-Max Hybrid, through some adversity, has an EPA-certified rating of 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway and 47 mpg combined – beating Toyota Prius v by up to 7 mpg. Ford recently launched an ad campaign for the C-Max Hybrid that directly targets the Prius
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