Ford™ Has Something Stuck in Its Teeth and I'm Not Breaking the News

Ford™ is claiming their vehicles are now equal to the quality of Toyota™.

Really?


I heard them say so in three of their own commercials tonight during intermissions of American Idol™. I'm no marketing executive or anything, but if I were, I certainly wouldn't be equating my product's quality with my toughest competitors'. After all, the point of paying for a commercial on national television is to influence consumers to buy a specific product--namely, your own product, if you're happen to be the one creating the commercial. The point is not, I daresay, to confuse your target audience by telling them that your product is every bit as good as the other guy's. All that does is make the brands blur together, when what Ford™ should be doing is making their cars stand out.

If I were creating these commercials, I would be telling the world that my crossover-hybrid-blah-blah-blah is not as good as Toyota's™--it's superior.


And what's the deal with Ford™ claiming that their cars are now as good as Toyota's™--you mean, Ford™, that they weren't so great last year? You mean that only now are you getting your act in gear (excuse the pun)? You're telling us that the past few years were a struggle for you, but in these "times of economic difficulty" [as George Dubbleya would say], you've finally made a comeback and are now--only now--starting to match the quality of your competitors? I'm pretty sure that's a weakness I wouldn't want to be proclaiming in commercials between segments of American Idol™.

Instead, I would highlight my company's newest technology, thrilling innovations, five-star safety ratings, and extra cup holders. I would use our sleekest-looking vehicle driving down the street in the chicest of cities, and an unseen mystery narrator with a mesmerizing voice.

Then again, that's what all the car commercials are looking like these days. Maybe Ford™ just wanted to do something different? Humble themselves? Sheepishly admit their past flaws, and convince us those days are long gone? I don't know.

But I do know that I am more a Toyota™ fan now than ever before, because they are the company who doesn't make excuses. They don't acknowledge their flaws or failures, and that means I--as a modern-day consumer--don't know of any. In my mind, Toyotas™ are an ideal choice of a mid-range vehicle: affordable, attainable, reliable, safe, fuel-conscious, and now are produced locally.

Poor Ford™; someone should really tell them.

*Photos from acfk.net and 4driversonly.com.