WPP, which lost the global creative account in 2018, continues to handle media planning and buying, in addition to multicultural marketing via its agencies Zubi and UniWorld. WPP also has the Ford-owned Lincoln brand via its Hudson Rouge boutique agency.
W+K handles the Ford account from its New York office. BBDO declined to comment.
Ford reported spending $3.1 billion on worldwide advertising in 2021. In 2020, the automaker spent 49.5% of its measured media spending in Europe and 42.8% in the U.S., according to the latest figures from the Ad Age Datacenter.
W+K’s moves on the Ford account have included installing Bryan Cranston as a spokesman beginning in late 2018. The agency has also led marketing for the new F-150 Lightning EV, and helped the automaker shape its corporate voice, including with an ad earlier this year touting its status as a major employer of hourly workers. That spot took a subtle shot at Tesla’s Elon Musk with the line, “right now it could seem like the only people who matter are the loudest—the ones who want to tear things down, and they fly away on their own personal spaceships when things get hard.”
