At the bottom of the advertisement, Ford includes a couple of paragraphs of text. The message Ford is conveying appeals to the readers rational buying behaviors by pointing out the Wagon?s safety and security features. Most of the buyers of these vehicles are families and Ford recognizes their concern for the safety of themselves and their children. They have intentionally capitalized the phrase “A SENSE OF SECURITY” and “FORD ROADSIZE ASSISTANCE”. As a Ford car owner, you can feel safe with its dual air bags, anti-lock brakes and remote keyless entry. Also, if you happen to be on the road and run into car trouble, Ford?s roadside assistance is simply a phone call away. Also embedded in the text of the ad, Ford mentions the Wagon?s handling abilities, sleek lines and curved angles?just like the Ford Taurus. By comparing the handling and looks of this car, Ford is appealing to the consumer?s love for a car that?s not only appealing to look at, but also fun to drive.
Conclusion
The underlying theme or message carried throughout all of Ford?s ad has been Quality and Safety. Ford, as a company, has devoted a significant amount of time and money in improving quality within their operations as well as their products. They recognized the foreign car makers were perceived to be much more technologically advanced and had achieved a level of quality that American car makers had not. Ford also realized they were unable to keep up with the quickly changing technologies and unable to meet the demand for new and innovative car designs. By focusing on Quality, Ford is now able to react more quickly to consumer demands because they can produce their product more efficiently without sacrificing product standards.
Ford is very effective at targeting their advertisements for their viewing audience. When developing advertisements for the Ford Probe, Ford consulted with a psychologist who bases product color advice on the theory that certain colors and shades appeal to woman more than men. Based on the recommendations offered by the psychologist, Ford ran advertisements with hot red colored cars for men and cooler colored cars for woman.
Through their advertisements, Ford is announcing that they have achieved a high level of quality and their products are technologically advanced. They are running advertisements which don?t necessary focus on a specific make or model of a Ford vehicle. They are running ads which tout their quality service and high-tech anti-theft devices. Many of the advertisements which are run by Ford are focused on promoting Ford as a company. When they do run ads to promote a specific model, they still carry through each and every ad the common thread of “Quality is Job 1″.