Ford Truck Ads Featuring Toby Keith Premiere on Monday Night Football

Business Wire, Oct 7, 2002

Entertainment Editors/Advertising & Marketing Writers

DEARBORN, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2002

Country superstar Toby Keith will be making his Monday Night Football debut tonight, but he won't be wearing a helmet. Keith and Ford Division will debut the first of several truck ads featuring Keith during the game.

The spots, shot in Southern California during the summer, feature Keith in a series of locations including a city rooftop, working on the farm and being "Ford Tough" as he plays his guitar in the recording studio. Keith wrote an original song for the ads, which captures his enduring love for Ford trucks. Keith is a 3rd generation Ford truck owner.

"As a Ford truck owner, Toby Keith embodies the hard working spirit of our truck customers," said Rich Stoddart, Ford Division Marketing Communications Manager. "Toby Keith will show viewers what it really means to be `Built Ford Tough.'"

The national advertising premiere will be supported by a regional advertising campaign for local Ford dealers. Other elements of the campaign, including print, radio, outdoor advertising and Internet, will be rolled out within the next few weeks.

"In many respects I'm `Built Ford Tough' and Ford recognized that," said Keith. "I have worked hard to overcome obstacles in my life and achieve a dream, coming up from working in the oil fields to get where I am in country music."

Keith, the reigning 2001 Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year, broke into the country music scene nine years ago. Since that time, he has had 15 number one songs with eight platinum and gold albums combined. His recently released album, "Unleashed," captured the number one spot on the Billboard Country and Billboard 200 music charts during its first week of sales.

Ford has long been associated with country music. During the 1920s, Henry Ford hosted country dances and held country fiddling contests -- including the Henry Ford Gold Cup in Dearborn, Mich. The contest was expanded through hundreds of communities across the country.

The connection between Ford Motor Company and country music was furthered in May 2001 when Ford became the "founding partner" of Nashville's new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Ford's most notable contribution to the facility is the Ford Theater -- a 213-seat state-of-the-art performance venue.

Ford's best-selling Built Ford Tough lineup of trucks includes Ranger, F-150, F-Series Super Duty pickups and chassis cabs and E-Series van and wagon models.

Note: Go to http://media.ford.com for news releases and high-resolution photographs.