Ford Freestyle does a print innovation with Hindustan Times

Ford India has launched a new campaign for their latest launch ‘Ford Freestyle’, India’s first CUV (Compact Utility Vehicle). Partnered by WPP’s GTB (Global Team Blue), the proposition ‘Josh Hai Dil Main’ celebrates the passion to follow one’s heart, for a regret free life.

Commenting on the campaign, Rahul Gautam, VP - Marketing, Ford India, said, “Ford Freestyle is a world-class product that aims to meet aspirations of young, new age ‘Optimist’ customers… who are progressive, risk takers, fiercely independent and love taking chances in life. The launch campaign takes the Ford brand platform of ‘Feels like Family, for a Change’ forward by pegging the brand on family values of ‘inclusiveness’ and ‘happiness’ that fuels our target mindset to follow their heart with passion and lead a regret-free life”. He added “The all new Ford Freestyle, with its powerful (Josheeley) 96 PS engine, and loaded with capabilities like ARP (Active Rollover Protection) is the perfect ally for today’s new age Optimists”

Shedding further light on the insight behind the campaign, Gautam said, “These new age customers live by the motto – ‘I would rather take those chances and follow my passion, than lead a life of regrets.’ Something that inspired us!”

The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in the unconventional and progressive mind-set of Ford audience called ‘The Optimists’. And taking a unique creative approach, Ford's latest campaign for Freestyle brings alive this audience in the campaign by going beyond stereotypes and showcasing diversity in situations and characters, while being inclusive - a reflection of TG’s open mindedness. They have also fused memorable pop culture metaphors to strengthen the relatability quotient, like using the song ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ from the movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ as the soundtrack to bring zing to the film and bring to life the ‘Regret Nothing’ attitude.”

This campaign is a celebration of inclusivity and diversity of the bold, free spirited young India. “And strengthens Ford’s brand platform ‘Feels like Family, For a Change’, which is at the core of everything we do, For Freestyle we have Inclusivity, which is a core family value, as a key pillar of the campaign,” explained Gautam.

To bring alive the spirit of Freestyle, Ford has also done a print Innovation with Hindustan Times, One of the Leading English dailies in the country. The innovation titled ‘what happens when a newspaper goes Freestyle?’, has been claimed as first of its kind where the HT has shuffled all the different sections in the newspaper, with Sports sections coming first, as it is a passion of their TG.

“We wanted to stay true to the spirit of our CUV Freestyle, and use the newspaper medium dynamically and bring in contextuality with the content and relevance to the newspaper sections. Credit goes to the Team WPP (GTB & Mindshare) to make this unique innovation happen right from idea generation to message creation,” added Gautam.

The innovation started off with a teaser on April 26, – “Ever seen a newspaper go Freestyle” till April 28, and the finally got unveiled on April 29, with dominance across pages of Hindustan Times with contextual messaging appropriately married to the newspaper section and content of the page.

Rajeev Beotra

Rajeev Beotra, CEO, HT English, HT Media Ltd, added, “Hindustan Times and WPP group (team GTB/Mindshare) have collaborated for Ford's latest and very promising offering ‘Freestyle’. After a lot of deliberation and exchange of ideas, this innovation is the result of keeping the brand message ‘Freestyle’ at the forefront, where Sunday’s Edition of Hindustan Times went ‘Freestyle’  for its readers by shuffling the sectional sequence, while adding a surprise element to the newspaper. The print industry is uniquely placed in terms of offering innovative opportunities to brands in a credible environment.”

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