Ford is back on the F1 grid for the first time in over 20 years, through a partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, and it’s marking the return with a campaign built for the streaming era.
The automaker and Wieden+Kennedy NY have launched “Every Ground Is Our Proving Ground,” a “micro-docuseries” that will air on Apple TV, where Ford is the official sponsor of F1’s qualifying and practice rounds. The series is designed to reach the next generation of fans through Apple’s sequential viewing capabilities, rather than standard ad spots, and will run across all three days of the Australian Grand Prix.
The films skip the celebrity drivers and go behind the scenes, starring real Ford Racing engineers like Christian Hertrich (F1 Powertrain) and Brian Novak (Off-Road). The broader team includes Kristen Goslawski, Anna Fortelk, Nicole McFaul, Jatim Goyal, Neil MacFarland, and Kevin Bologna, who work across Baja, Dakar, and F1 to translate high-voltage and software innovations directly into consumer vehicles, notably the F-150 Raptor and Bronco Raptor.
“Every Ground Is Our Proving Ground” is the next chapter of Ford’s global brand platform, “Ready Set Ford,” but is “an opportunity to show how Ford owns the extremes,” said Matt Mulvey, executive creative director at W+K NY.
“From returning to Formula 1 to dominating off-road motorsports, the story is not just about the races. It is about the engineers and teams who use the world’s toughest proving grounds to build better vehicles,” he continued.
“Proving Ground,” which launched March 5, is directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) with cinematography by Roman Vas’yanov (Fury). Rather than chasing the high-octane blur of typical racing footage, the film slows the sport down to capture the deliberate choreography of engineers and drivers fighting for fractions of a second.
“The Off-Road to Greatness,” dropping March 19 during the first round of March Madness, takes a harder-edged approach. Directed by Sam Pilling, the film mirrors the brutal physical intensity of off-road racing, focusing on the toll that terrain takes on both machine and driver.
Two 15-second shorts, directed by duo Behemoth (W+K NY creatives Zak DeLange and Andrew Congleton), round out the series with a look at race-day prep.
