Every Colt Grows Up To Be A Bronco
Everyone looks to be the Greatest Of All Time, but only a select few get to have seven different G.O.A.T. modes to show what they can do. Such is the case with the new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, which has been more of a unicorn lately with very few being available to consumers.
Many have hoped for years that Ford would bring this beloved rugged SUV back into production since sending off to pasture in June of 1996. When Ford announced the return of the Bronco, not surprisingly there was a lot of excitement built around it. So much excitement, in fact, that it quickly was made available by reservation only due to demand outweighing production output. With so much buzz, it seemed that they didn’t need to do anything more to get the consumer’s attention, but then Ford did something that nobody expected. They brought in… goats?
Ford’s latest ad has a feeling that you’re getting to see this for the first time on Super Bowl Sunday, but it was released on January 9th of this year. The scene is set on a very rocky, mountainous area in the dead of winter. As a mountain goat looks over the cliffside, it sees a young colt on its side in the snow struggling to survive, its foot pinned under a boulder. The goat and the rest of its herd rush to the young colt’s aide. The narrator, a deep and wise voiced man, begins the story of how the colt was raised by the goats who came to remove the boulder from its foot. Showing the weakness and inability to maneuver the terrain, the goats are head butting the colt, urging it forward as it tries to find its footing, and ultimately, its identity. As in all good montage footage, the colt now has become strong and leads the pack, able to tackle any terrain it encounters. As the colt walks toward the camera, it goes into a dark cave. Then the announcer says “And the colt, became… a Bronco.” It’s at this point the Ford Bronco’s headlights appear out of the dark cave and the throaty supercharged engine propels the vehicle out of the darkness and into the world. Showing the features of the new Ford Bronco Sport, including the seven Goes Over All Terrain (G.O.A.T.) modes and other features, the Bronco drives off into the distance, the camera panning out looking at the terrain that lay in front of the vehicle.
The Ford Bronco commercial has all the makings of a great story. There’s an established setting and conflict of what made the Bronco into what it is now. Though it was made with animals at first, there’s an undertone of how it took a while from the prior iteration of the Bronco to get to a new, improved version that is ready to carry on the proud tradition of being a leading SUV in the Ford stable of vehicles. Seeing the young colt struggle in the snow, up the mountain and then crossing the river gives the viewer a sense of wanting to root for it to succeed. The climax of the ad comes when the colt retires in the cave, only to emerge as a strong and fierce Ford Bronco. Having the angle of pulling at animal lover’s heartstrings to see a struggling quadruped survive and come out better in the end is a great way to hook the viewer.
From a technical aspect, the camera angles and scenery were critical to this ad coming together, as the scene has to show more perilous conditions and settings. Starting the ad with a massive snow-covered mountain in the distance, you are prepped to know this is no walk on the beach type of commercial. Looking down on the colt at the beginning shows a level of just how helpless and hopeless the situation is. Of course this isn’t as easily pulled off with a normal voice over. You need the likes of an action movie trailer voice to continue the drama and eventual climax of the story. If you pay attention to the musical selection, it climbs in anticipation as the story plays out. Starting at an almost solemn battlefield trumpet solo and building in excitement as the colt begins its journey to become a Bronco. Then, when the Bronco emerges, the beat drops and you feel the bass hit deeper with every hit. Then, as if to let you finally take a breath, the song releases when the Bronco drives off at the end. All of these aspects put together just right are what made this a successful ad campaign. My driveway can prove this.
I’ve been excited to see the Ford Bronco, but knew they weren’t readily available to purchase without a reservation, I didn’t think I would be seeing one any time soon. After seeing this ad for the first time, I took to Ford’s website to search for any Broncos available. Wouldn’t you know it, they had a red Bronco Sport just a few miles down the road at Crossroads Ford! What initially began as a trip with my wife to go look at it and take a picture or two ended up with us walking out with the keys to my new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport just three short hours later. The ad campaign was so compelling to show the features of the vehicle, all while providing an enjoyable, albeit cute and funny, commercial that made me curious enough to go look at and eventually purchase the vehicle that same day. Being in the market for a new vehicle made that commercial just the right nudge to get me interested enough to follow through on the call to action that Ford intended with this campaign.
It’s the power of advertising that gives the consumer a call to action that actually follows through on the purchase or action intended by the ad campaign. In order to have this success, though, the ad needs every piece fit together just right to be a worthwhile campaign. For me, it let me find my footing and race like a thoroughbred to purchase a vehicle, that as Ford says, is “Built Wild.”
