Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Slips Despite New ’Ready Set Ford’ Campaign—’Not All Brands Are Going to Survive’

Ford's latest marketing push crashes into investor skepticism as shares dip despite the 'Ready Set Ford' blitz.

Legacy Automaker's Identity Crisis

Traditional car manufacturers keep throwing ad dollars at problems that require fundamental reinvention—not just rebranding. The campaign lands as analysts question whether century-old auto giants can pivot fast enough to compete with nimbler electric and tech-focused rivals.

Wall Street's Cold Shoulder

Investors aren’t buying the hype. Stock slides continue as the market demands more than marketing maneuvers—it wants margins, scalability, and a credible path into the software-defined vehicle era. Another reminder that in the race for future mobility, not all legacy players have the gas—or the battery—to last.

Guess some companies are still trying to fix engine trouble with a fresh coat of paint.

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Ford is treating the current car market as an existential threat, and acting accordingly. Lisa Materazzo, chief marketing officer at Ford, noted “…there’s a belief not all brands are going to survive this transformation.” To help ensure that Ford is one of the brands that survives this transformation, it launched the Ready Set Ford campaign.

The major new campaign is set to focus on “…emotional lifestyles” of its global customer base. The first commercial in this vein will be seen during Thursday Night Football, and that will kick off a huge blast of advertising from digital to print to social to broadcast. If you have any contact with media in the next few weeks, you will probably see Ready Set Ford hit. The campaign, reports note, will put particular focus on “…badass drivers, creators, and ambassadors,” all eager to show why drivers should own a Ford.

The Instagram Purge

Possibly related to this news is a slightly earlier report that Ford essentially purged its own Instagram feed. Ford took down pages for the Ford Bronco, the Ford Mustang, the entire Ford Trucks page and the Ford Electric section. That might have prompted some concern by itself, especially ahead of the announcement of the Ready Set Ford campaign.

For Ford to wipe out several sections of social media does indeed suggest something is up, like the biggest marketing campaign Ford has launched in a decade. Still though, it proves the extent that Ford is likely to go with this, especially if it leans in hard on digital marketing. Since that seems to be part of the plan, the dots line up fairly well.

Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, eight Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.95% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.60 per share implies 7.02% downside risk.

Disclosure