Has anyone seen the new Ford commercials–you know the one where Bill Ford, Jr. is trumpeting Ford’s storied history as an innovative company. Every time I see it, I laugh.
1) Ford was an innovative company. The Model T, the assembly line, Mustangs, Firebirds, and the venerable F150 pickup–all good products/concepts at one point or another.
2) Ford is not an innovative company now.
Whenever a company has to resort to marketing to redefine itself, it is almost certain that there are many more internal problems. Hyundai hasn’t billed itself as the “New Japanese Car Company” (even though they’re Korean) but what they have done is upped their warranty period and have started producing better cars. And people noticed. Their sales are up.
Meanwhile, Ford continues to mire in mediocracy, using a flashy campaign to deceive the public and pronounce that they are an “innovative company” once again. I hope people aren’t that stupid to buy their ads.
Like I wrote earlier in Mission Statements, who you are defines what you do. And if Ford was innovative, you could see it in every product they sell.