Unlike one of its more notable previous efforts, Ford’s Super Bowl advertisement this year isn’t just flashy shots of its halo car, the GT. Instead, its focus is on the brand’s current range of technology, mobility ventures, and a hint of a futuristic, fully-autonomous vehicle.
The ad opens up with an assortment of scenarios in which people (and a cat) are precariously stuck—a front-wheel drive car stuck in the snow (which later gets saved by an F-150), a man trying to claw himself out of a wet wetsuit, a lone skier dangling on a stopped lift, and a glimpse of a static sea of cars stuck in what looks to be L.A. traffic—all problems, no doubt.
Ford saves the day with an encouraging brand promise: “Ford is here to help you move through life.” Then the remainder of the ad shows quick shots of the brand’s bike-sharing company (currently used in San Francisco); Chariot, a ride-sharing shuttle service; and a highly futuristic-looking vehicle with HUDs everywhere and no steering wheel in sight—a nod to a fully autonomous vehicle in the future perhaps.
Either way, the ad isn’t about selling a specific model; it’s a brand story play, one that is cute and inoffensive. Plus, playing Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” in the background adds an element of catchiness.
Watch the ad for yourself below before it airs nationwide on the Super Bowl this Sunday.
