Escape Routes, a new Reality TV show.

[Byteme]

Kind of an interesting way to put the vehicle in front of the public. 


Ford Goes Out On A Limb With New Reality Show

Ford Motor has created a lot of buzz with its interactive marketing campaigns, but its latest effort is almost beyond belief: a new prime-time reality TV series on NBC.

?Escape Routes,? which will air on Saturdays at 8 pm on NBC starting March 31, features a cast of six teams of two competing in a series of ?real-world? challenges during a road trip to major cities. But let?s be honest: the real ?star? of the show is the redesigned 2013 Ford Escape, which goes on sale in June.

Instead of the usual 60- or 90-day advertising blitz on TV and in print, Ford wanted a way to spread out its advertising dollars for the new Escape. The TV show will get the buzz going, and then some of those traditional campaigns will follow later on.

?Marketers have been trying for the past decade or so to go beyond the 30-second commercial or two-page ad in a newspaper,? said Matt Van Dyke, Ford?s director of U.S. marketing. ?It used to be you could pay for product placement. Now with the advent of socal media, it?s an opportunity to leverage the convergence of TV and interactive media. People can be entertained and it can also be participatory. They can engage, follow along, vote, and influence the results.?

Ford is the first automaker to build an entire prime-time show around a new vehicle,  said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president for Global Marketing, Sales and Service. ??Escape Routes? builds on the success of Ford?s previous social engagement programs and takes it to the next level with TV. This is another example of the innovative ways Ford is reaching consumers.?

To avoid turning the show into an infomercial, though, Ford agreed to turn over creative control for ?Escape Routes? to eight-time Emmy Award-winning producer Elise Doganieri. Other advertisers ? but no automakers, of course ? will be able to buy spots during the program, just like any other show.

Each week, the pairs of contestants will earn points and compete for prizes (including a 2013 Escape) by doing things like flying over the ocean with a jet pack, swinging on a trapeze or speeding on a zip line course. Viewers can play along, and vote for their favorite teams online.

?Escape Routes? should not be confused with another new reality show coming produced by Doganieri and others on TNT called ?The Great Escape.? In that show, pairs of players will compete for a cash prize by escaping from such locations as a seven-story castle, a deserted island, a sinking ship or a maximum security prison.

Bet they don?t win a new car, though.