The UK TV commercial for Ford of Europe’s new crossover Kuga model will debut tonight (21 May) to one of the largest TV audiences of the year.

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Estimated to attract around 15m viewers, tonight’s UEFA Champions League final between UK football (soccer) teams Chelsea and Manchester United includes a prime ad spot booked for the new model which takes Ford into the hard-fought small SUV sector it last contested several years ago with the US-made Maverick (aka Escape).


The ad will air in the half-time break at 20.32BST on both ITV and Sky’s Sports satellite channel.


Called ‘Blank Canvas’, the Kuga commercial is the latest in a series of campaigns produced by ad agency, Ogilvy. The theme is about design and why things look the way they do.


The campaign was based around the question “Who said we have to accept the ordinary?” and the advertisement suggests what might happen if all design ideas could start with a black piece of canvas.

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Featuring a soundtrack from French singer Camille’s latest album, the advertisement was directed by Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig who, Ford said, has a reputation for combining extraordinary images with an ability to tell an interesting story.


He has already produced some superb ads currently airing on British TV including the Sony Bravia ‘balls’ and Guinness ‘dominoes’ spots. Ford claims the Kuga work “is equally captivating”.


A spokeswoman could not immediately say what Ford UK is spending on the TV campaign and added that such information was unlikely to be forthcoming.


The Kuga goes on sale here next month.