Ford to tout redesigned 2011 Explorer during Grammy Awards
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“The Grammys provide an opportunity to reach a broad audience with our message,” Matt VanDyke, Ford's director of U.S. marketing, said in a statement.
Ford bucked tradition with the Explorer in July when it unveiled the redesigned crossover on Facebook instead of at an auto show.
Since then, Ford has been interacting with consumers on Facebook and posting videos that feature engineers and several celebrities answering people's questions about the crossover. The Explorer has more than 138,000 Facebook fans.
One of the celebrity videos stars Nelly. It has been modified into a 60-second spot featuring the entertainer interacting with a TV director about the best way to tout the Explorer's sound system. The director wants to use a lot of theatrics, but Nelly wants to “keep it real,” Ford said. Nelly's new song, “Gone,” is playing as the two debate in the spot.
The Explorer will be featured in three other commercials during the Grammys that “lean heavily on music to tell the Explorer story,” Ford said.
Ford started building the redesigned 2011 Explorer in early December. Its price starts at $28,995, including shipping, or about $1,100 less than the outgoing model.
In January, Explorer sales rose 73 percent to 7,351 units compared with a year ago, despite lean inventory. At the end of February, Ford expects to have about 10,000 2011 Explorers on the ground.
Explorer sales peaked in 2000, when Ford sold 445,157. But sales have fallen steadily for a decade.
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