Ford's First-Ever: Vicky's Hot Air Balloon Ride

Work Editorial's Trish Fuller has teamed up with director Peyton WIlson and Global Team Blue to release heartwarming work promoting Ford’s latest EcoSport vehicle.

“Vicky” marks the second spot in Ford's latest digital campaign that follows a young woman driving an EcoSport, discussing her painful past and why the dream of riding in a hot air balloon means so much to her.

“She spent half her childhood in hospitals and her social worker Joan was by her side giving meditation techniques to help her through the pain,” explain Sumer Friedrichs, Director of Integrated Production at Global Team Blue, on set along with Creative Directors Martin Insua and Ezequiel Soules. "Joan told Vicky to imagine herself floating in a balloon, the pain leaving her as she floated higher. That experience stayed with Vicky, and she has always dreamed of floating in a hot air balloon ever since."

The spot ends with Vicky arriving at her destination, pulling up to a hot air balloon waiting to take her up into the sky. She is surprised to spot Joan as she exits the EcoSport. Vicky’s face lights up as they hug, reunited to float in the sky together, her first-ever experience with Joan by her side...

The campaign is female-targeted, aimed at young women in their 20s to 30s, as well as empty nesters. "We always knew that we were going to have deeper stories on digital and we pushed a lot for that,” add Friedrichs, Insua and Soules on the motivation behind the campaign. “We knew if we found powerful, authentic stories that people would take notice.”

“One thing that pulled the target audience together was having something that they’ve always wanted to try,” they continue. “We wanted to get personal and tug at the heartstrings, so we vetted through over 250 people to uncover the most compelling stories to share.”

“To reunite Vicky with Joan, who gave her such a beautiful verbal meditation, became a really wonderful experience,” Friedrichs explains. “Trish Fuller did such a wonderful job, we were limited on budget and timing but it all came together so beautifully.

Fuller continues on the campaign after editing “Hugs," the previous spot in the campaign.

“We are very much in synch because she is right in my wheelhouse,” Fuller says on working with director Peyton Wilson. “Her authentic, real-life stories contain powerful dialogue shot in a very distinct style. You always want to connect with her material, and this story features such an emotional arc. The challenge was to help build the backstory and bring it to an emotional end."

The crew was also comprised of many women in strong roles, something unusual in automobile branding.

“I’m not out there very much producing jobs, but I really wanted to be there with this strong female crew," Friedrichs explains. "This was everyone including the AD, Line Producer, Production Designer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor and, of course, myself.”

“It is especially hard to get women approved on automotive projects because women just don’t have car spots on their reels,” she continues.

“As a result, women are dismissed right away, so to have a strong female crew on this campaign was very special. They were also the best people for the job. The client was impressed with everything as it came together, so it became a win/win situation as well as a personal goal achieved.”

“This is a success because there were a lot of people thinking in the right direction that just happened to be female," wrap Friedrichs, Insua and Soules. “When you see such nice work created it’s because everyone was on the same page. It was a great experience and we were very lucky. As a creative you always want to work with the best talent available and, in this case, we did.”