Food Network Canada is showcasing fine driving in a new marketing partnership with the Lincoln Motor Company of Canada.
Developed by Shaw’s Marketing Ventures team in collaboration with the media company’s internal production unit D71 and agencies Y&R Canada and Mindshare, the program is promoting the 2014 Lincoln MKZ luxury sedan.
It is built around a series of six online videos – three in each official language – featuring Food Network personalities talking about the importance of quality and design – traits of both fine dining and cars.
The two-minute videos equate the Food Network personalities’ approach to life with the qualities embodied by Lincoln.
One video starring Top Chef Canada head judge Mark McEwan features shots of him driving the MKZ through the city at night, as he talks in a voiceover about how the car aligns with his personal aesthetic.
“It’s beautifully designed, the material choices are exquisite, and the car makes sense,” he says.” Things that are overdone don’t appeal to me, and I find the clean lines of the car and the clean performance of the car to be really quite thrilling.”
In addition to standard beauty shots, the videos highlight many of the MKZ’s features. The McEwan video, for example, shows him parking using the MKZ’s hands-free park assist feature, while a video starring Chuck’s Day Off host Chuck Hughes features the heated massaging seats and heated steering wheel. Another video with Lynn Crawford (Pitchin’ In, Restaurant Makeover) highlights the SYNC with MyLincoln Touch system, which lets drivers use voice commands to control features such as navigation and interior temperature.
“The client was looking for a campaign that would go after younger, more affluent individuals and get them to discover the new Lincoln,” said Errol Da-Ré, senior vice-president of sales for Shaw Media. “The whole idea was to showcase the celebrity chefs’ passions and bring them together with Lincoln luxury.”
Each video drives to the Lincoln Canada website. Watch McEwan’s video here.
