On March 8, the International Women’s Day is celebrated all around the world. Joining the celebrations, Ford now releases a new marketing campaign with a very special product. The Explorer Men’s Only Edition isn’t what you think, though – it’s definitely not a macho or manly special edition. As weird as it may sound, it’s the exact opposite – a mid-size SUV celebrating the significant role women have played and will continue to play in the auto industry.
The 50-second spot starts looking like yet another traditional advertisement for the popular Explorer but the story quickly shifts to a vehicle that looks and sounds… well, absurdly to a certain extent. The special edition model lacks essential features such as a heater, windshield wipers, turn signals, brake lights, and GPS – all considered a must in the entire industry today. Ford, however, deleted all that equipment from the Explorer simply to show what a huge impact women have had in the auto industry.
Believe it or not, all of the above features were pioneered or popularized by women. Florence Lawrence, for example, pioneered the brake light and turn signals, while Dorothy Levitt created the rearview mirror. Gladys West, in turn, pioneered the modern-day GPS.
In support of International Women’s Day, the Blue oval company also reminds us of the importance of women in its global hierarchy, where Dianne Craig is president of Lincoln, Elena Ford is the Chief Customer Experience Officer of Ford Blue, and Lisa Drake is VP of EV Industrialization for the Ford Model e division.
Women are becoming more and more important for the entire auto industry as a whole – not only as engineers, managers, and designers but also as customers. Aston Martin, for example, believes women are behind the boom in SUV sales. On the other hand, we are seeing more and more female drivers in different motorsport series. Also, at least around 20 percent of all motorcyclists around the world are believed to be women.
On the behalf of everyone here at Motor1.com, happy International Women’s Day!
