For the first time since 2012, Ford Motor Co. is launching a new global brand marketing campaign intended to stretch beyond just promoting its vehicles to also show the world how Ford, as a company, puts community and customers first.
The campaign, called “Ready, Set, Ford,” started in the United States on Sept. 10 with a 60-second spot called “Anthem” airing on television and other places.
The spot features a series of action shots such as a man running as fast as he can, then cutting to Ford Mustang race cars speeding down a track, then cutting to a Ford F-150 pickup that ends up off-road to round up a stray bull, to a quick cut of two people in a Ford Bronco off-roading in an exotic locale, where they end up cliff diving.
The spot ends with an announcer saying: “Someone once said, ‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.’ ” Then the words: Ready, Set, Ford appear.
That “someone” who said that line was Henry Ford, the founder of the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker, some 122 years ago.
Ford’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Materazzo told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that this campaign is more than just advertising. It is meant to convey to the world Ford’s shift from a product-first to a human-first company that emphasizes aspects of Ford beyond its vehicles, showing how Ford fits various lifestyles.
The Anthem spot will kick off the campaign with the goal of conveying that something new is happening at Ford, Materazzo said.
“What we want to do is orient toward our consumers. We want to speak more directly to our consumers and the role that Ford can play in their lives, rather than making a declarative statement about Ford,” Materazzo said. “We believe that ‘Ready, Set, Ford’ is an invitation, it’s a bit of a catalyst, to give consumers that spark and inspiration they need to tackle whatever lies ahead of them.”
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Materazzo said Ford is launching “Ready, Set, Ford” first in the United States, with the majority of its other markets getting it by the fourth quarter and it will be live across the globe by the first quarter 2026.
After the launch of the Anthem ad, Ford will start putting out more specific messages in October that will speak to certain audiences about Ford’s products, services and experiences “that really bring to life our capability, our passion and our commitment to community,” Materazzo said.
For example, Ford might do targeted spots promoting its SUVs’ capability by showcasing G.O.A.T Mode in ads. G.O.A.T. Mode stands for Goes Over Any Type of Terrain. It’s a system on Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport vehicles that lets a driver use a dial to select different terrain modes to adjust the powertrain, handling and steering for those conditions.
“Other things that would really be examples would be Pro Power Onboard,” Materazzo said. “That allows you to power a job site, to power some electronics that you may have or accessories you may have while camping. All of those things speak directly to capability.”
She said these are “proof points” in Ford’s core missions that “show how we show up for consumers, how we help them in the lifestyles they’re pursuing.”
Materazzo said the company’s last global campaign in 2012 was dubbed “Go Further.” Ford wanted to call this one, “Ready, Set, Ford” because it is an invitation or a “catalyst” to inspire consumers to “tackle whatever lies ahead of them.”
Ford does not reveal how much it spends on marketing campaigns, but Materazzo said this is the biggest marketing initiative and campaign Ford will have this year. Earlier this year, it ran the successful “From America, For America” ad campaign promoting employee pricing on most of its vehicles.
The timing for the rollout is right, Materazzo said. The industry faces President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on imported cars and parts — Ford has said its net tariff cost this year will be about $2 billion — and uncertain demand for electric vehicles once the federal tax credit disappears on Sept. 30. Plus, there remains an overall uneasiness around the economy.
“This disruption or uncertainty in the marketplace could last for a bit longer and it’s a great time for us to have that sharper focus and positioning in the marketplace to speak to consumers and make it very clear of what we represent,” Materazzo said. “The optimism and resilance, that’s in our DNA and embedded in this campaign, is really important to communicate and it’s actually something that we’ve not leveraged consistently in our previous advertising.”
Beyond TV and digital advertising, Materazzo said Ford will expand the brand strategy across the company so that every part of Ford is part of the strategy.
“There is a piece of it that is a marketing campaign, but, as an example, how we’re working with Ford Philanthropy to deliver on these core equities in the work that they do. They have been side by side with us and have used this brand strategy as a North Star and actually delivered something called Building Together,” Materazzo said. “It’s one example of how it’s embedded within the organization. We have that in multiple areas and that’s why you’ll be seeing other expressions of this as this matures internally.”
As the Detroit Free Press reported, Ford Philanthropy launched Ford Building Together on June 17. It is a new program aimed at better unifying Ford corporate leaders, Ford employees, Ford dealerships and nonprofit groups when responding to a crisis. The idea is they work closer together and share the same visions, making the response more effective.
Materazzo said the purpose of the brand messaging is to showcase the breadth of Ford’s products, services and experiences that they may not be familiar with.
“So whether you’re an existing consumer or someone who hasn’t had Ford on their radar screen, what we hope is that they see this messaging, it piques their curiosity and they dig a little deeper to understand us. It’s not just products. It’s our services and experiences,” Materazzo said. “We have a lot of equity and certainly a lot of history. There’s some consumers though that may not realize the breadth and depth of what we offer.”
For example, beyond offering the Bronco SUV, Ford also offers Bronco Off-Roadeo, where people can take Bronco’s off-road and be instructed by some of the best drivers on how to drive off-road. Ford has something similar for on-road and track racing in Mustangs, she said. Ford offers pickup and delivery services through dealerships for having a vehicle serviced when and where the customer wants it.
These are the types of messages Ford wants to promote in the future through this branding to show consumers there is more besides the car.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

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