The tagline is iconic around Metro Detroit, Ford's stomping grounds. Some remember the jingle. Few know the agency behind it, the one and only Ford Dealer Advertising, based right here in Southeast Michigan.
A collective handling 47 dealers' advertising, it is arguably the most important and visible agency to Ford Motor Co. itself. This full-service agency handles it all; client relations, copywriting, print & digital advertising, local sponsorship, and brand enforcement.
And I became the agency's second intern in its 40-year history, by cold calling from the yellow pages.
In what can only be described akin to an episode of Mad Men, I was taken under the wing of this small team and shown the world of advertising in Detroit. Initially helping with day-to-day communication and correspondence tasks from the front desk, I quickly proved my creative skills and eagerness to learn.
Soon, I was tasked with internal ownership of graphic design work, ranging from internal documents to bi-weekly full-page 4C newspaper ads in the Sunday edition of The Detroit News/Free Press.
Proving I could collaborate easily with the creative director and copywriter, I was soon tasked with ad creation & production, utilizing Ford’s brand guidelines to develop impactful marketing materials for local publications.
When Ford released a major overhaul to their brand guidelines, it coincided with both the launch of the newly-redesigned fuel-efficient Ford Escape and a print deadline in a DTE Energy publication on green energy.
Recognizing the natural connections, I hold claim to personally creating the first-ever print advertisement of the 2013 Ford Escape under Ford’s new ‘Go Further’ campaign. Sent to the entirety of all of DTE’s residential customers in Southeast Michigan, I created the ad, copy, and layout from scratch.
With my appetite whetted in the print world, I sought to increase my involvement in my true interest and passion; multimedia. Ford knew the importance of advertising across all mediums and constantly had a multitude of radio spots and tv commercials needing creation and production.
Working my way from copywriting ads for voiceover talent, to strategizing and storyboarding video ads, I was granted access to seeing every level of production from ideation to export.
My very first television advertisement, featuring the F-150. Tasks were general scriptwriting and storyboarding.
A highlight of the job was the multi-day production of our Super Bowl ad, slotted to air locally. Interacting with the production company, I represented the client a majority of the time as we travelled all across the state.
From the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, inches away from new Mustangs, to behind the scenes at service centers, we had an all-access pass to key Ford locations, allowing me to learn the entire production process while in amazing settings.
My favorite memory: Picking the order of the Ford vehicles on the carrier that travelled a closed course under the Blue Water bridge. Seeing that shot happen live from inside the camera minivan, was absolutely a point of pride.
Built in Michigan :30 - tasks included co-producing and client representation at shoots
Trusted by my work family, I was privy to the entire spectrum of agency and client relationships. As one of the top clients across almost every single media entity in Detroit, the team was always invited to events and provided favors.
A product of this was creating the placards for the silent auction at a United Way charity event, gently drooling over the gifts media outlets had provided to one of their favorite (and valuable!) clients.
Throughout my time, I worked on creative that spanned all mediums. From pulling together visuals printed for the 47 dealers’ annual meeting, to digital advertisements for apps, to printed service coupons for consumers, nothing was out of the realm of possibility.
The internal intranet I redesigned is still in use to this day.
PoP materials for bringing people into dealerships.
A neat easter egg is that a little piece of my work is still used in their ads to this day.
The team needed to add a discrete “.com” to their logo for select pieces. Pulling together the alternate logo, this image occasionally pops up in television and digital ads.
I was invited back as an intern multiple years, and bonded with perhaps the best office family one could ever ask for.
