Ranger Cliffhanger? This Old Ford Commercial Sees a Ranger BASE Jump, Ford Tough Style
In 1983, Ford decided to launch its new Ranger compact pickup truck-literally, by flying it off a cliff’s edge. If the automaker is soliciting suggestions for its upcoming Ranger relaunch, it could do worse than take a look back at this advertising gem.
The entire premise of the commercial, besides the visual allure of a compact pickup leaving terra firma and reaching for the horizon, was to remind TV viewers that the small Ranger was Built Ford Tough. In a fit of realism, Ford’s ad people have the truck deploy a parachute for its vertical trip to the valley floor below the cliff. (The parachute extols the Ranger’s V-6 engine. Be impressed.) In any case, the truck’s toughness is “proved” when, slowed by the parachute, the truck lands rather aggressively (with a wince-inducing bounce) in some kind of desert muck. A group of cheery early-‘80s folks then pile into the Ranger and drive off.
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Watch for yourself:
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