Lights, Camera, Lincoln! - Ice Cube, Nia Long and Lincoln Navigator Co-Star in Upcoming Film, 'ARE WE THERE YET?'

Lights, Camera, Lincoln! - Ice Cube, Nia Long and Lincoln Navigator Co-Star in Upcoming Film, 'ARE WE THERE YET?' Ford's Global Brand Entertainment Team Bows in Beverly Hills With Garage Full of Great Brands for Hollywood to Try On DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- For Sony and Revolution Studios new family road-trip comedy, "Are We There Yet?" -- opening January 21st nationwide, a standard station wagon just wouldn't do for actor/rapper Ice Cube's smooth operator character, Nick. He likes to travel in style in his hard-earned, much loved, fully loaded 2005 Lincoln Navigator. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050110/NYM198-ahttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050110/NYM198-b ) With Lincoln Navigator in over 70% of the story line, it is more than a bit player in the plot which finds the hero (Ice Cube) shepherding two children from Portland to Vancouver to impress and hopefully win the heart of their beautiful mother (Nia Long). Lincoln's partnering with Revolution Studios for brand integration is an example of a fairly new approach companies are using to achieve more organic placement in movies and television. To find the perfect ride for Ice Cube's character, the screen writers partnered with Ford marketers to organically incorporate this integral "character" into the script. "Because 'Are We There Yet?' has both urban and mainstream appeal, it was tailor made to match the dual audiences for the Navigator brand," says Tom Sherak, Revolution Studios. "Even the Navigator's luxurious but functional features create an opportunity for comedy in the storyline." At The Intersection of Motor City and Dream Factory Since the days of Henry Ford, The Ford Motor Company has understood the power of mass entertainment to drive brand awareness and sales Film legend Mary Pickford and Laurel & Hardy films both had the Model Ts in storyline Line. Today, the company is the first and only automaker -- domestic or foreign -- to form an in-house division focused solely on finding entertainment opportunities for their vehicles. Similar to the success of such fashion designers as Georgio Armani and Calvin Klein, who have dedicated full-time staffers to court the stars by transforming the red carpet into the world's greatest runway, Ford believes they are well-suited to be the one-stop shop for movie and TV makers' automotive needs. The in-house team, based in both Beverly Hills, CA and Dearborn, MI, has offices and personnel in both locations with a "showroom" in the Beverly Hills office parking facility. "We have assembled an awesome fleet of vehicles that represent all of the exciting and beautiful models of cars, trucks, and SUVs, the Ford Motor Company and its eight brands offer," said Myles Romero, Global Brand Entertainment Manager. "We also have a member of the Ford family, Alessandro Uzielli, on board and Bob Witter who has a strong background in placement, promotions, and integration." Al Uzielli, grandson of Henry Ford II and cousin to Ford Motor Co, CEO Bill Ford Jr., an independent film producer for 15 years, serves as a full time advisor to Ford Global Brand Entertainment. He believes his background in the film world will help make a difference at Ford. "We are being almost surgical as to where we place our vehicles -- we want the brand's image and the vehicle features to help us make our decisions and we are seeking quality placements for our brands as well as keeping in mind the artistic integrity of each project." "We are here to make the process much easier for the studios and help them navigate the abundance of product offerings," said Romero. "We want to build collaborative relationships with best-in-class creative talents in the entertainment industry to bring a new point of view to automotive consumers. In today's competitive climate it is more important than ever to build personal, one-to-one relationships." Romero says the team of five will in a sense, act as a casting agency, with the product lineup as the portfolio of stars. And from the looks of it, the personal relationship building can deliver results. For 2005, Ford Global Brand Entertainment has an impressive cadence of movie projects underway, along with a myriad of television integrations. "We are not looking at the quantity of placements we can accomplish, but focusing on the quality of placements and trying hard to respect audiences tuning into television shows or going to see a movie," added Bob Witter. Performers Find Collaboration at Lincoln Mercury The Lincoln Navigator's co-starring role in "Are We There Yet?" is the third artistic collaboration for Lincoln Mercury in the past year. Tom Grill, Lincoln Mercury Communications Manager led initiatives like Grammy winners, artist Paula Cole and producer Don Was, who were given creative freedom in crafting the musical component of the recently released New Doors Opened ads. Entertainment industry innovators were called upon for "Meet The Lucky Ones," Mercury's highly successful interactive website campaign. Creator Kirt Gunn, Independent Film Director, Derek Cianfrance and Executive Producers Jon Kamen and Greg Schultz brought life to this very ambitious project, which just made ADWEEK magazine's top ten list of best ads of 2004. Lincoln, along with the Ford Motor Company brands has a long history in the entertainment world. "We have some great new products that have recently launched at Lincoln Mercury, and we are looking at new ways to connect with consumers," said Grill. "Are We There Yet?" marks the latest film to star a Lincoln product. Other vehicles have held prominent roles including the original "Batmobile" in the "Batman" TV series, as well as in films such as "Thunderball," "Animal House," "Starsky & Hutch" and "Johnson Family Vacation." About Lincoln Lincoln is a brand of the Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., which manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 327,000 employees worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive- related services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 16, 2003. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050110/NYM198-a http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050110/NYM198-b PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Lincoln Mercury CONTACT: Sara Tatchio of Lincoln Mercury, +1-313-594-3744, statchio@ford.com, or Lisa Kovitz of Burson-Marsteller for Lincoln Mercury, +1-212-614-5041, lisa_kovitz@nyc.bm.com ------- Profile: International Entertainment