WARNING: Ford thinks these boomer memes will make you buy EVs
But they’ll probably cringe you out
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
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The problem with Ford’s memeing strategy
Well, I wouldn’t say that insulting or criticizing potential customers because they still have reservations or still don’t know a lot about EVs will help them decide to go electric.
Plus, throughout the memes there’s a clear distinction between “us” (the people who love EVs and EVs themselves) and “you” (the people who still resist for no reason).
Don’t get me wrong here, social media engagement is an efficient marketing strategy — I just don’t think that “aggressive” memes will convince anyone to buy an EV, let alone memes that fail tobuild positive feelings of solidarity and belonging.
That said, I do like Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and I support automakers’ efforts to push towards an electric future — after all, SHIFT is sponsored by an electric car brand.
Still, I believe that when it comes to marketing an unfamiliar yet product, it’s more efficient to drop the dollar on sales techniques that focus on providing information and guidance.
