Today Yahoo! and Ford have announced a new reality series which will be featured on Yahoo’s Video Destination. “Plugged In” will showcase teams of contestants who compete to actually win a new Ford Focus Electric. Viewers will be urged to participate in the who via Flickr. The show will be produced by Magic Elves Production Company.
Matt VanDyke, director of U.S. Marketing Communications for Ford commented on the partnership with Yahoo:
“Ford is launching the Focus Electric on Yahoo!, once again recognizing the power and reach of the Web as we continue to rely more on digital media,”
“The electric vehicle market will grow over time, so we electrified our popular small-car platform with a targeted online campaign instead of creating a one-off vehicle with huge ad budgets.”
Apparently contestants on “Plugged In” will be receiving cues from Ford’s SYNC navigation and communication system inside the Focus Electric. It sounds pretty interesting so far, but we’ll have to wait to see how all these zany ideas manifest themselves in the show.
Erin McPherson, vice president and head of Video at Yahoo! also comments on the partnership with Ford:
“Innovative brands like Ford are playing a key role in the growth of online video, especially when the approach starts with the creative elements and storytelling. When the product integration is truly organic, as it is here, the overall consumer experience is enhanced,”
“We drew from insights we have about our audience – namely, that they are passionate about celebrity-related content, and that they love travel – and together with Ford, we developed a high-energy reality competition in which the Focus Electric plays a key role. We will then program the series in the context of our other leading media properties, resulting in a highly immersive video experience.”
Contestants for the new reality series will be selected in the coming weeks, but there’s no word on exactly when we’ll be able to view the show. Like I said, it sounds kind of abstract to me, but it should be fun to see people compete for a new car. The pairing of Ford and Yahoo seems like a powerful one to me. I’ll keep you posted when a definitive release date is announced.
