Ford packs safety promise in a rakhi, woos women

Ford India has rolled out a TVC for its compact SUV Ecosport. The film features actor Kalki Koechlin, and targets women while showcasing the brand's safety features. It has been conceptualised by Global Team Blue. 

 

The film draws on the festival of Raksha Bandhan which falls on 18 August this year. As part of the customary celebration, women tie a rakhi (holy thread) on their brother’s wrist, while the latter promises to protect them. In this case, Koechlin picks up a rakhi band from a decorative installation and proceeds to wear it on her own wrist. While doing so, she makes her way around a Ford Ecosport to the driver’s door and gets behind the wheel. As she drives off with a smile, a female voice over says, 'Because we want your safety to be in your hands. With class-leading safety features’. 

 

Rahul Gautam, VP, marketing, Ford India, points to the growing trend of women purchasing cars. He said, "The concept draws its strength from research and data which depict that from being a key influencer deciding on the colour a decade ago, the role of women in car buying has evolved. According to Ford’s New Car Buyer Study, the women, many of them being first-time car owners, are going beyond aesthetics to understand different technologies. Women drive more than 10 per cent of Ford sales in India, a trend sure to grow thanks to affluent upbringing, the rise in education levels and an increase in career opportunities.” 

 

With features like higher ground clearance and ease of driving, Ford EcoSport emerges as the favourite Ford product among women with over 15 to 20 per cent women ending up being behind the wheel, he explained. 

 

Gautam informed that the film is the first step of the campaign. Digital content targeting and featuring women is in the works, celebrating their role in society with the car being the enabler. 

 

Sujatha Chakraborty, senior creative director, Global Team Blue India, said, "Women, for far too long, have been portrayed as those seeking safety. With the new commercial, we wanted to break this stereotype and show how empowered today’s women are."