The Upside of Competition

Ford got a chance to shine this week by playing off Cadillac’s recent widely-panned homage to American materialism.  Check out both ads back to back:

That Ford scored some cool points by using an afro-clad black woman touting sustainable farming is a:

a.   wonderful example of the power of american multiculturalism

b.  a cynical way of using women, people of color, and        environmentalists to shill for a multinational corporation

c.  a calculated way of using issues people care deeply about to market product to women, minorities and working class folk

d.  yes

Hint: Ford created the ad, hitting three demos with one fresh face, and even built a brand new Youtube channel called “Upside” in response to Cadillac’s script. They landed over 2000 news stories and nearly a million views in one weekend.  Caring, or calculated, or both?

I’d say this isn’t the last upside ad we’ll see from Ford.  Be on the lookout for the accompanying interactive website; the hashtag #Upside is already treanding.

Unknown's avatar

Author: Susan X Jane

Susan X Jane, Principal of Navigators Consulting, has over 30 years of experience exploring race and representation in both the public and private sectors.  Susan is a transracial adoptee—a Black woman raised in a White family and community—an experience that created an early focus on the way race shapes our concept of ourselves and each other. Susan has worked to address race and racism as a community organizer, nonprofit program developer, professor of communications, and consultant to corporations and impact-focused institutions.  As Principal of Navigators Consulting, she draws on decades of experience to work with organizations in the public and private sectors. To any who seeks to build a better world, she offers her skills as a teacher, coach, and strategic partner to help create diverse and inclusive environments where the humanity of all is respected and protected.

Leave a comment