I just read a print ad for the new Lincoln Motor Company (New?) and I’m perplexed. The first part of the message is a call to non-action. It reads “Does the world need another luxury car? Not really.” Okay, so that’s out of the way. (And, with global carbon dioxide levels up 41%, I must agree.)
The next message suggests that the Lincoln brand was created not to meet the need of consumers but rather to suit Edsel Ford. The word Edsel is synonymous with utter failure BTW, but maybe the ad will change all that. The first Lincoln was created by Edsel Ford as an intrepid vacation auto — to please his own personal sensibility.
Then the copy moves on to share some historical firsts, e.g., a shifter not on the column, push button transmission (always good to talk about the past when positioning for the future) and then discusses “engineered humanity” that puts the driver first. Huh?
Finally there is some buried discussion about the new MKZ and a strong finish about concierge service — as if our heads weren’t spinning enough.
The tidy little bow at the end is “Call it luxury. Call it engineering humanity. We’re calling it the Lincoln Motor Company. A completely reinvented wheel, with you at its center.”
Wheel as the company metaphor…really? Ah, the craft. Peace.
