It turned out the only Ford in a Super Bowl commercial was Harrison.
A lot of disappointed Rockdale-area residents turned off their televisions—or hurled something at them—Sunday night after four hours of watching the 2018-19 season’s ultimate football game without seeing the commercial filmed in Rockdale.
It did not run. In fact, none of the American “Big Three” auto makers had commercials during the game.
There were some Texas market spots for domestic auto companies during the breaks in the national telecast but the hoped-for international ad filmed in Rockdale last Dec. 21 didn’t air.
EXPOSURE—The town had hoped for worldwide exposure after an 80-member Austin-based film crew visited Rockdale and shot extensive footage for a Ford pickup spot at the RHS softball field, home of Ward and Kathryne Roddam and Alcoa property southwest of town.
It’s a different world in the high-octane field of big business and big ad agencies.
There are many factors on whether a commercial—even one already “in the can”—ever sees the light of day.
There were ominous signs that the commercial wasn’t going to be part of Super Bowl LIII.
A Detroit News story speculated none of the Big Three would advertise during the Big Game. Just knowing neither GM nor Fiat-Chrsyler would advertise might have swayed Ford executives that their company did not need to air an ad.
Also, nothing is more certain than Super Bowl commercials being leaked before the game.
Several leaked compilations were posted on You Tube before Sunday and none of them included the Rockdale-based ad.
SECURITY—While the Dec 21 filming was proceeding in Rockdale, security was tight with the film crew saying the shoot contained “proprietary information.”
The Reporter attempted to take photos but was politely turned away with the admonition “we know how things are in a small town.”
There were plenty of Super Bowl ads, of course, but the only “Ford” one was Star Wars icon Harrison Ford losing an argument with his dog for Amazon.
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