Sales pitch: Why the Ford Ranger can compete with the Toyota HiLux but the Escape struggles against the RAV4 | Opinion

Not to steal Jerry Sienfeld's bit, but what's the deal with Ford's marketing?

I'm a car reviewer, not an advertising critic, but the television commercial for the Ford Everest is excellent in my opinion. You know the one, with the family dressed up like mountain climbers while Edmund Hilary's heroic speech plays in the background.

It's evocative, fun and memorable - all the things you should aim for in a 30 second TV ad. It's also the polar opposite to every ad I've seen for Ford's deeply underrated Escape mid-size SUV. The most recent one was a generic spot with a couple driving and then pulling some gear out of the boot while the voiceover urged you to rush in because it was currently in stock.

Read More About Ford Escape

Ford Everest 2023 review: Trend Bi-Turbo 4WD Ford Escape 2023 review: ST-Line long-term | Part 3 Ford quitting petrol-powered SUVs: But going all-electric for next-generation Puma, Escape and others is the right move to take on Toyota, Mazda and Tesla | Opinion

While hardly memorable it was more notable than previous ads I've seen for the Escape that literally target specific buyers. Ford used to run an online ad that singled out those considering a particular variant of the Honda CR-V and instead asked them to consider the equivalent Escape.

It was an incredibly narrow-focused commercial that didn't even target the class-leading competition (no offence, Honda). And it speaks to the larger issue with the Ford Motor Company in Australia - Ford makes good cars, so why can't it sell them?

It's the question that has plagued the Blue Oval for a long time now. These days it has little trouble moving the Ranger, just like it once pushed Falcons out the door almost as quickly as they came in. But Ford has traditionally struggled in the other segments of the market, not because it offers bad cars but simply because it can't match its rivals when it comes to luring buyers in.

As we've written before, the Escape deeply struggles against its mid-size peers. In 2022 Ford sold just 2179 Escapes while Toyota sold more than 34,000 RAV4s and Mazda managed to shift more than 27,000 CX-5s.

In contrast, the Everest is one of the best-sellers in its segment in 2022.

In contrast, the Everest is one of the best-sellers in its segment in 2022 - behind only the Toyota Prado, Toyota Kluger and Isuzu MU-X. And, while it's very early days, in January it was the best-selling large SUV.

Which is understandable as it's a very good vehicle with a strong marketing campaign behind it. But it does make you wonder what the Escape (and other models, such as the Puma) could achieve with a similar marketing push?

According to Ford, the reason for the very different campaigns around its two SUVs comes down to when it's trying to talk to buyers in their car buying process - the so-called ‘purchasing funnel' that industry insiders refer to.

Ford communicated to CarsGuide that the Everest commercial is designed to "drive broader awareness" of the new model, when buyers are in the early stages of considering their next purchase. Whereas the Escape campaign was designed to focus on customers in the latter stages of buying a new model and are therefore more focused on specific reasons for buying a car.

As we’ve written before, the Escape deeply struggles against its mid-size peers.

That's a reasonable explanation, but it still doesn't really solve the riddle of why Ford can't come up with an equally evocative and engaging campaign for its non-Ranger/Everest models.

To a certain degree it's undoubtedly a business decision based on allocating resources to the campaigns that it believes will get a better result. But what is the potential of Escape, Puma and other Ford models if they got the same level of attention as the Ranger and Everest?

It's too much to expect the Escape to suddenly become a best-seller, because it isn't a class-leading model that demands your attention over its competitions, but it does deserve more attention than it's currently getting. Both from SUV buyers and the marketing department at Ford HQ.