Ford, A-B, MillerCoors Using NFL Advertising To Promote Products

Ford's Advertising Campaign For New Taurus Will Be Featured On "Fox NFL Sunday"

Ford plans to "heavily promote its all-new Taurus passenger car" during the '09 NFL season, according to Ken Thomas of the AP. Advertising during games will be integrated into Ford's sponsorship of the "Fox NFL Sunday" pregame show and "Web ads on fantasy football sites." The campaign kicked off yesterday and includes "images of the Taurus on TV screens around the Fox studio, animated billboards of the vehicle during the broadcast and mentions of the 'Ford Drive One' campaign going into and out of commercial breaks." Ford is also planning "viewing parties on Sundays with the Taurus and a heavy presence on social networking sites." The automaker will "continue to advertise trucks during football games," but Ford "wants to use the time slots to place a spotlight on Taurus and other passenger cars." Ford said that the NFL marketing "will comprise a substantial portion of its launch budget for Taurus." Ford Group Marketing Manager for North American Cars & Crossovers Amy Marentic said that the company "wanted to use the ad campaign to follow the activities of a typical guy during football season" (AP, 9/11).

BEER IS STILLING FLOWING: MARKETWATCH's William Spain reported Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors are "pouring the cash into pro football-related advertising and promotions, hoping that longstanding ties to the sport and its fans will keep sales bubbling during the recession." While both companies have been "doing some cost-cutting of their own, it does not appear to extend to their ad budgets" for NFL-related spending, as the two brewers both plan to "ramp up their efforts during the regular season and playoffs." A-B VP/Media, Sponsorship & Activation Dan McHugh said that the company's enhanced media presence "will be used to back ... Bud Light's 'Tailgate Approved' ad campaign." Meanwhile, MillerCoors VP/Media & Marketing Services Jackie Woodward is promising "'fully integrated and fully differentiated' ad campaigns across multiple media platforms" (MARKETWATCH.com, 9/11).