Man in red van: FORD delivers 'Heartbeat'

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Here's one that will strike a chord with many of us, for different reasons. The catchy 1'30" film aims to promote Ford’s new connected vehicle data system that keeps vans and business healthy by comparing a business to the human heart, and courier vans to the circulation of blood, FORDLiive. When the red vans arrive on time the heart beats normally - when vans are reduced to a trickle, it slows and stops. "Because FORDLiive keeps vans constantly on the road, the heartbeat of the business is soon beating healthier than ever when the vans return," says automaker Ford in Europe. FORDLiive is specifically designed for fleet customers, introducing techniques where vehicle health data can be used to predict and schedule maintenance so that vans don’t break down in the first place, keeping them on the road and working. What do you think of the ad? Some will snort derisively that it's all very well to have efficient vehicle manufacturers, but this is clearly designed for the benefit of fleet-hungry behemoths such as Amazon, whose van purchases have sky-rocketed especially during the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. Individuals who are striving to do their bit towards reducing the air pollution that kills an estimated 4.2 million people worldwide every year may throw up their hands in despair, seeing the campaign merely as encouragement to increased pollution, further isolation, and ever more distance from healthy high streets teeming with people and independent businesses. Many will be delighted with both the approach - it's not just the giants who rely on effective warehousing, distribution and deliveries to keep business running - and the cleverly choreographed piece: toy vans were used to work out how the synchronised movement should work; the campaign was then shot in Madrid during lockdown in December 2020, filmed entirely by drone or helicopter to create dynamic scenes, with no static shots. The soundtrack is a specially created composition by British electronic duo Mint Royale.

Keywords: FORD Liive, Ford in Europe, FORD Heartbeat, connected uptime system in delivery vans, transport fleets, delivery vans, Mint Royale, AMV BBDO