(April 12, 2010) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Ford today kicked into high gear its advertising and marketing campaign for the all-new 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty at a preview of Web and TV spots at the grand opening of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill.

Timed with the arrival of new Super Duty trucks in U.S. and Canadian dealerships, the multifaceted marketing campaign demonstrates the truck’s class-leading towing and payload capability, fuel economy and productivity against the competition.

The campaign includes a series of new Webisodes, which go live today, featuring Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe. Television spots narrated by entertainer Denis Leary will begin in mid-April. And partnerships with stars such as Toby Keith kick off this summer when Ford sponsors Keith’s 2010 America’s Toughest Tour.

“Fundamental to the new Super Duty marketing initiative is Ford’s intimate knowledge of the truck customer,” said Doug Scott, Ford Truck Group Marketing manager.

“Our customers are huge Toby Keith fans, they enjoy a wide array of sports, and they use their trucks for all sorts of work – from home repair projects to major industrial commercial work,” he said. “Our deep understanding of this customer guides everything we do, from engineering to marketing and advertising.”

Multifaceted marketing campaign begins on the Internet
Truck customers increasingly rely on social media for technical information and networking, according to Ford research. In fact, more than 15,000 Super Duty conversations take place a month on forums such as powerstroke.org, dieselstop.com and www.ford-trucks.com. Furthermore, the top 10 Ford Super Duty enthusiast sites rival the membership of the top 10 sites dedicated to Ford Mustang, America’s most popular muscle car.

With these numbers in mind, Ford last September gave truck customers in-depth technical information about the new Super Duty a full seven months before the truck launched.

“We wanted to make sure the Super Duty customer had access to all new information about the truck, including what went on behind the scenes,” said Eric Peterson, Ford Truck Communications manager. “We showed them how our engineers and our fleet customers tested the new Power Stroke diesel. Now, we’re showing them how the truck performs against the competition.”

The first set of Webisodes, released last fall, demonstrated the engineering expertise and extreme testing that went into building Super Duty’s new 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine, which delivers best-in-class horsepower, torque and fuel economy. The second set, which went live in February, featured fleet customers in Wyoming, Florida and Texas driving preproduction trucks on their job sites in severe weather and extreme off-road conditions.

Now, with the third series of Webisodes, titled “Head to Head,” the new Super Duty goes head-to-head against the Dodge Ram HD and Chevrolet Silverado HD in exercises that matter most to customers – towing confidence, towing capability and fuel economy. TV’s Mike Rowe and Super Duty Chief Engineer Chris Brewer host the three segments.