Lincoln goes Mad (Men)

I was scanning through Ad Age this morning and laughed out loud when I read the following paragraph.

"John Slattery is parallel to the Lincoln brand," Connie Fontaine, Lincoln's luxury and non-traditional communications manager, told Ad Age. "A lot of people say they know John, have heard of John, but can't quite put their finger on him. It's 'Where do I know that guy from?' People say they've heard of Lincoln and know Lincoln, but then they're surprised when they get in a dealership and see one."

The Lincoln brand was founded in 1917 and acquired by Ford in the '20s. Over the years they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars to let people know who they are with apparently little success.

(Actually I think people know Lincoln and just don't love what they see. But that's another post.)

So now they expect to bring clarity to the brand by featuring a minor celebrity in an ad talking about fuel economy in copy laced with cliches?



Good luck with that.