part of the go bold campaign....

By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: May 1, 2006

Project Runway, meet Monster Garage.

That is the gist of a concept executives at the Ford Motor Company are tossing around for a new reality show. While corporate sponsorships of reality shows are nothing new — Ford has been a prominent sponsor of "American Idol" — the company is looking to produce the show itself in the hope of reconnecting with younger consumers who have drifted away to other brands like Honda and Toyota.

Under one situation Ford is considering, aspiring car designers would compete against one another to design the next hot Ford vehicle.

The script would play out something like this: Each week a panel of judges would review designs, laud the most creative ones, criticize the least inspired ones and send the losers on their way.

For the top prize, Ford would build a concept version of the winning designer's car and display it at an auto show.

The show is still in the early phase of development, and Ford has not yet begun seeking out any contestants, producers or a television network to broadcast it.

The show is part of a larger marketing campaign know as "Bold Moves" that Ford will announce tomorrow at its Dearborn, Mich., headquarters. Other ideas said to be part of the new campaign are a documentary-style Internet program starring Mark Fields, who leads the company's North and South American operations, and a new series of national television commercials for Ford vehicles featuring a previously unreleased Kelly Clarkson song.

The initial campaign is expected to have a price tag in the tens of millions of dollars. But the cost will probably grow to more than $100 million.

"Others have been telling the Ford story, quite frankly," said John V. Felice, Ford's marketing general manager. "What we plan to do is begin to control our own destiny and tell our story in our own words."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/bu...rssnyt&emc=rss

 

But will it have Simon?

 

Herb Powell: I want you to help me design a car. A car for all the Homer Simpson’s out there, and I want to pay you $200,000 a year!

Homer: And I want to let you!