Attention Researchers: What Do You Think Of This Type Of Research?
As you know, I love this industry. I love the challenge of solving problems for clients. I love seeing new products and services before anyone else does. I love the entire interaction with a company and their research partner who helps them decide whether to move forward or not with a particular concept. I love the people. This industry is filled with passionate, dynamic, insightful and intelligent people. Mostly, I love the fact that market research can truly MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Please watch the video and then read on….
Let me start and say I don’t agree with the Ford Swap Your Ride campaign. They state we didn’t tell them we were from Ford. They told them they were doing market research. They also state "we didn’t tell them what to say." Is that what researchers do? The research industry in the United States is over 8 billion dollars. Maybe I am going out on a ledge here, but I am thinking that none of that research is done with companies that tell respondents what to say.
I don’t own a car made by Ford but if I did I don’t think I would feel really good that a company needs to misrepresent itself for a promotion. Please understand–I don’t have a problem with the concept; to swap your ride makes sense to me. But the Ford team is very smart and could have come up with something more creative without taking a shot at this great industry.
Ford, you didn’t have to set up a fake marketing research company; there are thousands in the industry who could have done a great job for you. It will be interesting to see if respondents believe Ford when they are conducting "real" research on their next project.
- What do you think?
- Are you as upset as I am?
I really look forward to your comments.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Thank you for be outraged. I first saw this ad weeks ago, and I thought I was being over-sensitive (and I was going to suggest it as a blog topic). With every exposure to the advertising, my outrage grows.
I was in the hopes that enough influential researchers might convince CASRO to officially contact Ford.
To your point, swapping is fine, but mocking research is just unnecessary. Is the creative staff so challenged that they chose to go an easy, lame route rather than earn their keep creatively.
I’ll be interested to hear other feedback… perhaps my research passion and pride have made me a bit thin-skinned.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:48 am
That commercial makes me mad too. SUGGING is already a major headache for our industry without reputed companies like Ford muddying up the water even more. But leaving MR concerns aside for a moment, I wonder what they were thinking when they approved this ad. They are basically admitting that they had to lie in order to get people to even test their vehicles. How bad is your reputation when you have to lie to give away your product? My two vehicles are 3 and 7 years old and I can’t imagine it would be terribly difficult for someone to convince me to drive a brand new car, no strings attached, for a couple of days. Ford has to lie to in order to entice me to do that?? They are basically spending millions of dollars on a campaign whose main take away is “we are so bad that we have to pay people to spit at us”. What were they thinking??
October 10th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Merrill - Thank you for continuing this conversation. This discussion is taking place on several blogs. I would assume that someone at Ford is listening in. I would also assume that in the halls of their agency and marketing department .. and hopefully their research department .. a message is being heard that this type of advertising not only denigrates the research industry but erodes the trust of customers. Ford you can do better!
What do you think will happen when the next legit survey is conducted for Ford? Will a respondent who has seen this commercial wonder if the research is a hoax? Will it bias opinions?
As Merrill pointed out, it would have been so easy to have brought in a ‘real’ research firm. The advertising would have had additional credibility.
As a sidebar, this post and online conversations in general, are part of “new listening research” where we can hear the unfiltered voices of our customers and prospects. My 2 cents .. every company should be monitoring social media. Is it the only research to conduct? No way. Will it become an important element of a marketing research strategy? I think yes.
October 10th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I’ve seen these ads a few times now. I found it interesting because it’s not a typical car commercial - (most of which I find so annoying I can’t change the channel fast enough) so, I watch it.
I don’t think it mocks market research any more than it does the advertising industry in general.
You could argue that in most “testimonial” type mass advertising, today’s consumers know that the “real people” are in fact, scripted actors. In my mind, this commercial is nothing more than Ford saying: “look, we’re using real people and we didn’t tell tell the real people what to say.”
Of course they couldn’t tell them they were from Ford - they didn’t want any of the reactions to be clouded by preconceived perceptions of the Ford brand - that makes sense to me. Telling people it was market research lent them the credibility they may or may not have had if they told the people they were from Ford.
Could it be said that your feelings about the campaign are relative to your knowledge of the market research industry and your definition of market research?
Tangentially, I’m waiting to see the spot where they “swap the ride” for someone who drives a 2007 BMW 7 series sedan with a Taurus….
October 10th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Like Susan, I too thought I was being overly sensitive upon viewing this ad. It only makes me want to stay away from Ford. For a fraction of what they are spending on this campaign they could have fielded a true research project with truly projectable results.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
You’re being overly sensitive. This is no different than the set up for a taste test or any other in-home use test. We don’t tell the respondent who the study sponsor is before (or after) they try the product.
I agree with Kath “telling them it was market research lent them credibility”. They needed an unbiased way to have people try a new vehicle and then be filmed giving their opinions about it. Research has the credibility to pull this off without providing the sponsor’s name.
The statement about not telling them what to say is a shot at other commercials, not the research industry. Most commercials use actors with scripts posing as real customers…this one use real people and their own words.
They didn’t try to sell the people the vehicle after they drove it so no SUGGING.
They wanted to create commercials, print ads, promotion opportunities featuring drivers of other makes talking positively about their vehicles. They aren’t calling this market research (although their are similarities - qualitative, in-home use test, concept test, etc.) and so they didn’t need to hire a market research company.
Look at it for what it is…not what you think it is. Nothing to be sensitive about here researchers…this is not a slam on our industry.
October 10th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I remember seeing the ads and being annoyed by them. The snarky references to “market research” remind me of the people who call you at home pretending to do a survey but are in reality trying to sell you something. I can’t help but think that some young advertising exec came up with the copy. (I know this sounds like I’m putting down another profession, and there are some agencies that do extensive, professional research, but let’s face it, there are many who don’t.)
This isn’t the first misrepresentation of research that I’ve experienced from Ford. In 1994 when I bought my Mustang (which I still drive to this day) after I took delivery of the car, the salesman took out a questionnaire with a Ford logo and said “You’re going to be getting one of these from Ford. Here’s how you fill it out.”. He had highlighted all of the 10’s on scales of 1-10 and said “My bonus depends on this.” I read him the riot act and complained both to the sales manager and the owner of the dealership. I got the questionnaire in the mail and never filled it out, as I then considered myself a biased respondent.
October 10th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
It is Sugging and every research trade group is against this. I expect MRA to lodge a protest to Ford. I am really disappointed the people at Ford do not know any better than to try to trick their customers and that they seem to think it is ok to misrepresent what they are doing.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Tony/Kath,
Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately I don’t agree. I truly believe they are taking shots at the research community. When they said “we didn’t tell them what to say” - that can be taken a few different ways. Tony I know where you are coming from but please don’t suggest they got customers on film to say whatever they wanted - if they did that which I don’t believe how many takes were left on the floor - hundreds. They were looking for certain comments and got them one way or another.
I just found out that this commercial was a hot topic at the CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations) board meeting yesterday - the board is very upset and deciding how to respond. Everyone has opinions and that is the beauty of a blog but in my opinion what they did, how they did it and the message it send out is wrong. It doesn’t work for me.
Thanks again.
Merrill
October 11th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I rarely get outraged, so you won’t hear me say I am….(I know you will find that unbelievable, knowing who I am married to!!)
From the marketing aspect of this.. (my AMA/ Marketing hat on) my first reaction was - this is way too cool. What a great way to sell your product, try it for a week… Fun, interactive, creative and engaging the customer… like I said I think it’s cool
BUT………
(MRA hat on)…. Legally – I think they have a problem. I would certainly wonder what the script stated to “recruit” these folks, what were they told, etc. Seems as if they mislead in a few areas and some of these areas are not only unethical , but also illegal.
I certainly believe MRA / CMOR need to respond to the Ford (those of you on the EXEC BD – please encourage them to do so and to respond immediately! This is so “cool” I can see others imitating this style of advertising……I’d be asking for them to cease.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Personally, I find it tremendously insulting to our industry. To be labelled as, essentially, a ruse to get people to endorse a product, undermines our credibility and hurts our already challenged ability to get cooperation from consumers.
MT
October 11th, 2007 at 8:36 am
I’m responding from Treo so hopefully I’m actually answering your question. I assume you are referencing the “Switch Your Ride” spots where it is implied that the promotion was conducted by deceptively suggesting that the promotion was actually “market research”. Obviously, the campaign has caught my attention…and it has really bothered me, as someone like yourself who is actively trying to encourage respondent cooperation in actual studies. It might warrant a by-lined editorial in one of the marketing or advertising trades (maybe we write it)…that uses the spot and the questionable practices that it suggests as a rallying cry for data quality and respondent cooperation as well as a rebuttal or outcry against the lack of respect that Ad Age claims our profession gets in Jack Neff’s piece a couple of weeks ago. I actually wrote a letter to the editor under Larry and my signature about that one, which hasn’t been printed yet (They did call Larry to request a photo…so maybe next week). I can send you a copy if you’d like.
Is Ford implying that it takes an MR plea to get consumers to consider their vehicles? If so, then there’s a pretty sad commentary on the well chronicled struggles that company has had in “moving metal”.
But my first reaction to the Ford spot, was to the seemingly pejorative tone of the voice over when he said, “We told them that it was market research”. Maybe I’m overly sensitive, but I found that to be condescending and insulting to the profession. It’s also hypocritical, because Ford does an awful lot of marketing research. We are actually doing a study for them now.
There are lots of issues this raises, and I address some of them in what could be a controversial presentation on our profession, that I’m delivering at IIR last week. I hope that I will see you and others will be at that one.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Merrill -
It was so transparent that it wasn’t research. And, seriously, what kind of cars do these people have? I can tell you Ford does not have one production vehicle that I would be happy swapping my Porsche for… It’s a complete travesty.
Why can’t our industry leaders band together to ask them to cease airing the commercials AND issue some sort of very large-scale public retraction, as well as an apology to the legitimate consumer research industry? Isn’t that what CMOR, MRA, CASRO, AMA, AAPOR, etc. should be doing?
Do we need to get a petition together and present it to the organizations? Let me know what I can do to help - I’d love to participate in any type of action we could take.
Best,
Lynn
October 11th, 2007 at 9:35 am
CMOR is taking action on this issue. We are in the process of drafting a formal response to Ford to express concern over the potential damage such an advertisement can have on the research profession, as well as respond to a recent request about this issue from Research Magazine.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Merrill,
Thanks for your reply.
My job really falls more under the Advertising/Marketing side of the spectrum and surely that influences my opinion of just about everything I see.
This spot is an example of ‘experiential marketing’ - “tell me, i’ll forget, show me, i’ll remember, involve me, i’ll understand.”
I’m intrigued by the number of posters who are truly upset. Ban the commercials? Come on people - you cannot be serious!
Again, I would argue that most people watching that TV commercial have no idea what market research truly is all about.
I’d like to ask you what Ford could have done differently with the spot in order to not have the MR Industry circling the wagons?
Debatingly yours,
Kath
October 11th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Kath,
I agree that the people watching the commercial have no idea what marketing research is about (I don’t think the people who wrote the ad do either), but that is the point. When market research is placed in such a snarky context, they will invariably associate market research with snarkiness or have unrealistic expectations about participating in MR studies (”Hey I’m going to get a new car out of it.”).
Think about the line “We told them it was market research.”). Does it really add anything? Would the commercial have played just as well without it? I would argue yes. Cut the line and the commercial works just as well and doesn’t make life more difficult for the people out there trying to do legitimate research.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:00 am
There were two things about this ad that got me going. One was the use of market research in the ad and the other was the tone with which it was used - not only was it a misrepresentation but the tone indicated a lack of credibility for the profession. This is not how our industry should be portrayed. I am happy to see that CMOR has taken action. We need to continue to build credibility for our industry in order to increase respondent participation and quality data collection.
To respond to Kath regarding what Ford could have done differently, my suggestion is show some sensitivity toward a well respected profession and the impact that a message like this could have on that profession and the people who care deeply about it
October 11th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I had to watch/listen to the commercial twice to believe what I was seeing/hearing. The tone of the announcers voice can certainly be questioned - was he implying negativity towards the Market Research industry or merely explaining to the general public.
Thank you, Donna, for having CMOR voice their concern, as well as you, Larry & Jon, representing the MRA, and of course Merrill for this discussion!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Bob/Steve,
Market Research: the gathering and studying of data relating to consumer preferences, purchasing power, etc., esp. prior to introducing a product on the market.
So how is what Ford did in the ad not market research in the eyes of their target audience?
Bob, I stand by my assertion that saying “market research” lent them credibility.
Would you have all felt better if they just said “research”?
Ford is clearly not directing this spot at the MR industry (or people who drive a Porsche).
This was nothing more than their latest (albeit somewhat lame) attempt to get the attention of a lot of people who might need a new car soon.
You’re taking it all way too personally…anyone from Ford around here who can weigh in on this????
In the meantime - hey, how about those Red Sox?!
kath
October 11th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
I am looking forward to what the Industry leaders are going to do about this. It cannot be overlooked. I also hope that any and all researchers currently doing business with Ford, shares the feeling of all of us with their contact.
C
October 11th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Hi all,
When I first saw this commercial, I thought I heard it wrong or misinterpreted it. What bothers me most is the voice over inflection that seemed to “giggle” at the idea of market research. I would love to know if a Marketing Research agency helped put this on the tube. We in the industry have worked very hard and for a very long time to let the public know what Marketing Research is (and is not). Usually I jump for joy at any reference to Marketing Research in the media. Not this time. If the words were spoken with a different tone of voice, I might have had a different impression. Can’t wait till Hyundai comes out with a new commercial and the same voice over guy says “We didn’t tell them it was a Hyundai, We told them it was a Ford…giggle, giggle”
October 11th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Merrill,
Thanks for throwing this out there for discussion. That commercial chaps my hide every time I see/hear it. I don’t like the snide tone they use when saying, “market research”. I think they imply that the people who took part in their study were lied to and told that they were participating in market research. In fact, the study was market research.
I think we should all refuse to do any more research for Ford until they make a public apology and retraction
But maybe there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Melissa
October 11th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Kath,
You build integrity by the way you do things, not by what you say about what you do.
If Joe’s Midnight Body Shop calls me and says they are doing a market research survey when they are actually trying to sell me their services, does saying “market research” give them extra credibility or do they even deserve it? I would say no.
Bob
ps. Go Red Sox!!!!
October 11th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Bob,
As far as integrity goes, I couldn’t agree more.
Maybe I’m splitting hairs, but, isn’t gathering feedback about a product (as they are doing in the commercial) market research?
Is it that Ford is doing the research (vs. and independent, third party mr firm); is that’s what’s got everyone here so bothered?
Would any of you really turn Ford down as a client because of this?
October 11th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I have been following market research for thirty years and I have to say I am shocked. I watched the ads a few times and I didn’t hear any snide tone when the voice said “market research” Do you really hear a snide tone? Snide? Like Thurston Howell the Third?
Doesn’t it seem like the people in the spots are sincere in their appreciation of the vehicle? Does anyone seem manipulated?
Are you perhaps being a bit sensitive?
I wonder how your outrage compares with how doctors feel when they watch Scrubs or how prison camp survivors feel when they watch Hogan’s Heroes. How about those hotel restaurants who have their coffee secretly switched with Folgers crystals, I bet they are plenty upset. I can sympathize with them. I don’t know about you.
I’m spending too much time overthinking your overthinking. Time to go play with the grandkids.
October 12th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Folks,
I am so charged by all of your energy and concerns over this.
First, let’s go to the source. I just spoke with Patrick from CMOR, he is going to go to a contact we have at Ford and discuss how this ad came about. Could it be they actually did this as research, saw the hook and turned it into an ad campaign. If they did, we have a great advertisement for research, to clients!
I know they imply a ruse. But, they really don’t say anything that violates research standards. We never tell anyone who we do the study for. They collect comments that is exactly what we do. The announcer says we didn’t furnish or influence any statements, exactly what we do.
So, our issue is that it implies that one can use research as a disguise to sell. But, they never actually say that they did that.
So, let’s find from them how this came about and see what we really have here.
Keep this furry and contribute to CMOR so that when government does something really bad we are ready.
Larry
October 12th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Hi all
See Research Magazine’s coverage of all this here:
http://www.research-live.com/news_story.aspx?pageid=30&r=y&newsid=3809
We’ll be interested to hear what the industry associations have to say…
October 12th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Found another take on this issue, from academia. http://wom-study.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-fords-swap-your-ride-program-example.html
October 12th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Merrill - this post is a great example of the influence a “community” can have in bringing attention and (hopefully in this case action) to an issue.
October 16th, 2007 at 8:13 am
I have had friends outside the industry ask me about this ad and whether I was offended. At first I thought that it was only the snide tone in the announcer’s voice that was offensive. After all, we refrain from revealing client identity all of the time. We have to, and for the same reasons suggested in the ad - to get unbiased responses.
But after seeing the online articles about this, I think that Ford committed a major offense against this industry.
Basically, they lied to people and blamed the Market Research Industry. Had they actually conducted real research - for example, swapping comparable Buicks and Toyotas along with the Fords, it would be a different story. Bottom line, they defrauded the participants and misrepresented themselves as market researchers.
What does CASRO say about this?
What does the Ford MR department have to say about it?
Of course, if Ford wants to send me an RFP…
October 16th, 2007 at 10:02 am
You can see what Casro’s Eileen Campbell has to say in our latest report on this, here:
http://www.research-live.com/news_story.aspx?pageid=30&r=y&newsid=3814
October 16th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Wow. I think the focus on “we didn’t tell them what to say” is a mutually exclusive point from the reference to marketing research, within the context of the commercial. I’ve seen this commercial several times, and even after reading the blog, I STILL did not walk away from the verbiage as if it were making a statement that market research tells people what to say. I agree with one of the comments above - they’re saying it as a point of differentiation from other commercials or paid advertisements where the people are paid and scripted.
As far as the “we didn’t tell them we’re from FORD - we said it was for market research,” I don’t see any difference between that and any other non-identified blind study, as many others have suggested before my posting.
Honestly, I found the ad to be impressive, as it lets people with actual experience driving the vehicles sell the vehicles. I think the entire ad concept was creative, ingenious, new, and did exactly what was intended - got people talking about it. Look at us . . . I think Larry has the best take on this. It seems there’s a lot of conclusions being jumped to, but ultimately if this was done as research, and the research helped to construct an ad campaign, then the research worked, whether it was a direct or indirect consequence.
Let’s not forget that no one (not even academia) conducts research for the sake of conducting research - it is hoped that it is ALWAYS used to help hire ups in the organization make informed business decisions. It appears as though this is, in fact, a prime example of this, yet is falling under so much criticism. If you don’t agree with the research design, that’s one thing, but I hardly think it mocks the industry.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
I think the approach that CASRO and CMOR are taking is the right one: not to jump to conclusions or to express “outrage”, but to engage Ford to find out how this happened and to influence them in how to proceed in the future. There are a number of questions that need answering for that to happen: did the research function know about this and approve it? was it from a real study? who in Ford approved it? We will also need to (re)educate JWT that you have to be very careful in this type of thing. After all, the key here is respect for the respondent so that research remains viewed as something that is of benefit to society, not just as an adjunct to the advertising and direct marketing industries.
Let cool heads prevail and let’s gently but firmly educate Ford and JWT in the ramifications of (mis)using research in this fashion.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I agree with Merrill et al that Ford’s use of “fake” research comes across as Sugging. However, I don’t believe they were intentionally “taking shots” at our industry, nor do I believe the ad campaign is damaging to our industry — insulting, but not damaging. While we are a sizable industry, we only represent a tiny fraction of the workforce, a good chunk of which is probably Ford’s target market.
I’m not upset by Ford’s campaign, because I find advertisers abuse and misrepresent research often for the sake of credibility — all within legal means no doubt. When I worked in radio, you’d hear other stations make claims such as “Arbitron rated as top sports station in the market.” This meant nothing when there was only one sports station in the market — just sounded good to the average listener. Other examples abound; Ford’s campaign is just another example.
I agree with Lance/Larry — this campaign included research (a good thing even if done badly in this case) and has been effective, as we are all talking about it. The point is we in the industry see the abuse and misrepresentation, but it’s unlikely anyone else does.
With that said, I’m glad CASRO and CMOR are addressing potential wrongdoing on the part of Ford.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
When I first saw the ad, I recoiled. I did the same during repeated viewings. Reading the comments in this blog was perfect. Everything that I would have added has already been said. This has been an excellent rendering of the issues. Thank you participants.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Good morning.
I want to personally thank everyone who has contributed so far on this blog. It wasn’t too long ago that i didn’t know what blogs were and how truly powerful they can be. For me it isn’t about who is right or wrong, it is about who made the best point or the most valid. For me it is about seeing how are people feel about a particular subject and in this case a very important subject.
A blog should be a combination of thoughts of opinions and frankly that is what this blog strides to do each and every week. I
I have learned so much in the past year from YOUR comments - so please keep them coming.
Merrill
October 18th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Oooooops - forgot to attach a link in the prior post that I thought I would share:
http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/2007/10/what-is-wrong-w.html
October 18th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Did any of you see this?
http://www.mrweb.com/drno/news7437.htm
October 24th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Not good for the industry. Even my husband remarked (unsolicited) that it does not give “market research” a good name. The commercial REALLY annoys me. I change the channel every time it comes on. All I seem to hear are the words “MARKET RESEARCH.”
October 31st, 2007 at 9:34 am
And one more thing since I am constantly hearing this commercial and it is making me angry. All participants are upgraded to better cars with a lot more features than their current car. So of course they are going to like it better.
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
Greetings,
There has been a lot of interest in this story, both on this blog, and throughout various circles within the profession. From everything that is public about the Ford commercial, there is nothing that would allow us to conclude that Ford was not conducting legitimate research. In fact, there is at least one interview with Ford that refers to the research they did in this advertisement, beginning with their intention to perform actual marketing research.
Unfortunately, the advert conveys the idea that (esp. to the public) that there may have been some below-board activity. As a profession, we realize that the public sentiment affects us deeply- with respect to legislation, respondent cooperation, and our general identity. For this reason, CMOR’s official response to Ford is through communications designed to educate them to be sensitive to how opinion research is portrayed. It’s not enough for us to maintain high ethics and standards- we need to communicate our legitimacy to the public effectively as well.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Merrill: Thanks for your valuable service to MRA’s Board of Directors and our membership.
As the newest addition to MRA’s staff (Director of Communications), I am only beginning to understand the breadth and depth of the MR field. There’s a lot to learn and your blog is a good jump-off point.
It strikes me that the MR industry needs a healthy shot of positive PR, especially in light of an article from Pantagraph.com on 12/9 (Everyone’s got a cell phone, so who are pollsters polling? Mobile phones, caller ID create new challenges for pollsters; here is the link to the full article: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/12/09/news/doc475a45ce33810354435677.txt).
I have some questions about what this article means to the industry and to the public:
1) With response rates plunging for phone surveys, what does this mean for the accuracy of political polling as we enter the heart of the primary season—and into the national election cycle?
2) What are some of the innovative and creative ways (be they tools or techniques) research marketers are taking to overcome resistance to surveying?
3) Is Internet polling accurate and reliable? If not, why not, and what’s the industry doing to fix it?
4) Why are young people so hard to reach for polling purposes, and what’s the industry doing to reach this highly skeptical audience?
I look forward to your further comments on this and other matters.
January 18th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Just in case you missed it this is from Bob Lederer Editor & Publisher Research Business Report November Edition page 2.
Finally, at the risk of piling on… My first reaction to Ford Motor Co’s recent ad campaign was probably the same as yours. It couldn’t happen for legal reasons, but how would Ford react to a competitor borrowing the image of Henry Ford to trick people into doing something for one of their campaigns? They’d feel used, as the MR profession did in the automaker’s “Swap Your Ride” commercials.
Thanks for letting us ad this to the conversation Bob.
Merrill
April 25th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I just noticed in the most recent MRA Alert (April issue, page 40) that the Ford Campaign was mentioned and that CMOR contacted Ford’s Board of Directors over concerns that these advertisements might further erode the public’s confidence in opinion research. In turn, Ford responded that the reference to “market research” was REMOVED from their “Swap Your Ride ” advertising campaign.
Merrill
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 am
“To ensure that owners would be candid with their opinions, the team presented itself as a market research group and didn’t identify themselves as Ford employees”
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=28269
Here we go again…
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:10 am
Robert,
Appreciate you sending us the link and updating this post.
Thanks.
Merrill