Ford x Sydney Sweeney
My partner and I sold in a new strategy for the Build Ford Proud campaign: one that looked deeper not at the vehicles, but at the people who drove them. Enter, Sydney Sweeney. An award-winning actress who fully restored her vintage Ford Bronco named Cherry. We partnered with her (and surfer Kai Lenny and stunt driver Dee Bryant) to usher in a new era of what it looks like to be Built Ford Proud. This was shot on-location in Los Angeles and landed Ford in the pages of Vogue.
Featured on Vogue, Seventeen, Fashionista, ET, People, Grazia, Maxim, Page Six, Nylon, Harper’s Bazaar, Access Hollywood, BroBible, Narcity, HungerTV, Outkick, TheBigLead, HypeBae, Trend Hunter, Brit+Co, HerCampus, Bloomberg, AdAge, Campaign, the Drew Barrymore show and, most importantly, Throwing Fits.
Director: sportscar (Lucy Sandler)
Editor: Matt Burke
Color: Tom Poole
Photographer: sportscar (Ariel Fisher)
CD: Eric Helin, Stuart Jennings
Creative: Jen Hubbard, Laura Bailey
Producer: Sam Pasquesi, Connor Dean
Ford x Sydney Sweeney: Merch and Social
We didn’t just film her story. We also created a series of TikTok videos designed to introduce more millennial and Gen-Z aged women to the world of auto, posted on Sydney’s restoration-focused TikTok channel, Syd’s Garage. The videos were a huge hit, garnering over 15 million views in under a week with no paid support. Hopefully, they inspired more diversity in the field, helping to build a future where Sydney is not longer the only girl in the shop.
To further prove out that automotive isn’t just for men, we created a line of inclusive workwear in partnership with noted workwear experts, Dickies. They sold out in under 24 hours and fans took to social begging for a restock. As of June 2023, even I still don’t have the overalls.
Design: Henry Jinings, Malithi Gunawardena
Photographer: Kristen Gladney
Videographer: Alex Kramer
Ford x Drivers: Director’s Cut
Bonus! Lucy Sandler of sportscar put together a director’s cut of all three talent. Dee Bryant creative done by Tedd Wood and Marcus Yuen.
Editor: Matt Schaff