Here's Why Ford CEO Jim Farley Says You Won't See A Ford EV Super Bowl Ad This Year
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an important milestone in widespread EV adoption. Other EV trucks like the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer EV are both impressive pieces of technology in their own right and are more than suitable daily drivers. But the Lightning was the first commercially available EV truck that wasn't approaching a six-figure price tag when it launched and could be outfitted as a relatively bare-bones work truck. It sold out basically immediately.
Even though Ford is having a hard time keeping up with Lightning demand, it's still going full steam ahead with EV technology to beat not only Tesla at its own game but get more EVs to the market than its longtime arch-nemesis General Motors. One way to spread awareness about the merits of electric vehicles is through advertising. At the beginning of the year, there is no better time to debut an ad than during the Super Bowl. But Ford, despite all of its work to put an EV into every driveway may refrain from advertising its efforts during the big game.
Ford will likely sit out the big game
Last year Jim Farley, Ford's CEO noted that since Tesla doesn't spend any money on advertising its EVs, it doesn't make a lot of sense to pump money into advertising, according to Reuters. He also said: "If you ever see Ford Motor Company doing a Super Bowl ad on our electric vehicle, sell the stock." That seems pretty definitive. Given the fact that the F-150 Lightning is completely sold out and you can't even order one, it's clear the truck doesn't need any advertising to get the word out. The Lightning speaks for itself.
Ford spent $3.1 billion on advertising in 2021 and it seems the company now thinks that money could be better used elsewhere. It's safe to say that Ford will likely use the money saved on advertising to pump into developing new EV technology for future models and making the current Mustang Mach-E and Lightning even better. It's unlikely, however, that Ford will use that money to buy a social media network, much like another notable EV company CEO.