By Eric Mayne / The Detroit News

Ford brings Steve McQueen back to life using a body double.

If you build it, they will come.

But will they buy?

Ford Motor Co. expects to get the answer next month when a new Mustang
television commercial begins airing. The ad is an homage to the
tear-jerking 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," in which Kevin Costner
portrays a dreamer who conjures the spirits of Shoeless Joe Jackson
and other baseball players when he builds a playing field on his farm.

In Ford's commercial, a farmer builds a winding racetrack, which he
circles in the 2005 Mustang, due in showrooms next month. And out of
the cornfield comes Steve McQueen, the late screen star famous for
driving a Mustang in the 1968 action flick "Bullitt."

The farmer then tosses his keys to McQueen, whose likeness is created
by a body double and some digital editing wizardry. The spot ends with
McQueen driving off in the new Mustang.

Mustang enthusiasts have been buzzing for days on Internet chat rooms
about the high-concept commercial. Ford confirmed the accuracy of the
storyline described on the Internet.

Marketing experts say the Ford ad is pushing the right buttons because
the McQueen legend and the Mustang evoke fond memories for movie-goers
and car buffs alike. "It's a very positive association," said Wes
Brown, a partner in the California consulting firm NexTrend.

The Mustang commercial is part of a comprehensive marketing effort
Ford is launching today to generate some excitement about the blue
oval brand.

Ford is dumping the current slogan for its namesake marque: "If you
haven't looked at Ford lately, look again." Some inside the company
believed the tagline was apologetic and ineffective.

The Dearborn automaker is counting on a strong start for a passel of
new models to bolster sales and put an end to a long market share
slump. The Ford brand is on track to drop to 16.6 percent of the U.S.
market in 2004, its ninth consecutive year of decline. Through
September, Ford's total car sales were down 13.5 percent compared to
last year.

The brand also has increased its fourth-quarter advertising budget to
$170 million, about 50 percent more than was spent during the final
three months of 2003.

Using computer trickery to transcend the passage of time isn't new to
commercials. Ten years after his death in 1987, Fred Astaire's image
was featured in an acclaimed TV ad that showed him dancing with a Dirt
Devil vacuum cleaner.

"If it's executed properly and well, it can be a very effective tool,"
NexTrend's Brown said.

The Mustang commercial was conceived by Detroit-based J. Walter
Thompson and shot by Believe Media, an international production
company whose clients have included Coca Cola Ltd., Nike and
McDonald's.

Marrying McQueen's image to the commercial's live-action content took
more than six weeks of preparation and post-production computer work,
said Katie Matson, an Ann Arbor native who is creative coordinator at
Believe.

"It is as if Steve McQueen is back to life," Matson said. "It is very
real. This is a very seamless edit."

McQueen died of lung cancer in 1980. But Paul Street, who directed the
Mustang commercial and did a similar treatment of McQueen for a Ford
of Europe product launch in 1997, dismisses any suggestion that the
commercial is exploiting an iconic American image.

"I hope for those who don't know the legacy, that this spot will
inspire a new generation to visit McQueen's extraordinary body of work
and (appreciate) his passion for automobiles," Street said in a
statement.

Ford secured the rights to McQueen's likeness from the actor's estate
for an undisclosed sum. Ford also was required to obtain the rights to
use images from "Bullitt" and "Field of Dreams."

The commercial was shot in Chilliwack, British Columbia, located about
60 miles east of Vancouver. The site is popular with filmmakers
because of its picturesque setting and the Canadian dollar's favorable
exchange rate.

Earlier this year, the area served as a backdrop for a Volkswagen
Touareg commercial.

Believe Media shot the Mustang spot over a two-week period in
mid-summer, on a 360-acre farm owned by David and Fran Vander Kooi.

"It was really hectic at times, but it was really worth the
experience," said David Vander Kooi, 42, adding that the operation
took on a Canadian flavor when the film crew used local livestock as
extras and hired area residents to do odd jobs.

"They used our neighbor's chickens, our nephew was working in the art
department and the neighbor boys did some corn planting and
transplanting," he said.

Cut from a 75-acre cornfield, the track was modeled after Willow
Springs International Raceway, about 65 miles northeast of Santa
Clarita, Calif. So meticulous was the film crew that some ears of corn
were hand-placed.

Vander Kooi didn't drive the Mustang, but he still managed to have
some fun before the 3/4-mile loop was torn up and his field was
returned to its natural state.

"We rented go-karts," he said.

Still, Vander Kooi saw enough of the redesigned Mustang to form an
impression.

"It's a cool car," he said. "We loved it."

While he wouldn't disclose how much money he received as compensation,
Vander Kooi didn't deny that for two weeks, his little piece of
Chilliwack was a field of dreams.

"Just to see how a movie's made is quite an experience," he said. "It
was really neat."

NoOp Comment: Got to see this ad!  Sounds pretty cool!

Patrick
'93 Cobra
'83 LTD