Lincoln going back to its roots with its original name

Gannett

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Ford is taking its luxury brand back to its roots with the decision to return to its original name, Lincoln Motor Co., and a new advertising campaign touting its heritage.

In August 1915, Henry Leland formed Lincoln Motor, named after Abraham Lincoln, to build aircraft engines with cylinders supplied by Ford. Edsel Ford signed the agreement to buy Lincoln Motor in 1922, and in 1940, it became the Lincoln Division of Ford Motor Co.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally and other top executives are expected to be in New York's Lincoln Center Plaza Monday to announce a new advertising campaign: "Introducing the Lincoln Motor Company."

The celebrity element will be provided by Emmitt Smith, professional football's all-time leading rusher, Super Bowl XXVIII most valuable player and former "Dancing with the Stars" champion.

The new campaign no longer uses actor John Slattery, who has been the face of Lincoln during its recent transition with some refreshed models to bridge the gap until the first all-new models: the MKZ and MKZ hybrid midsize sedans.

This latest campaign to rejuvenate Lincoln evokes the past while promoting the new MKZ to a new generation of buyers when it goes on sale later this month.

The intent is to return to original branding to restore Lincoln to its past luxury status, as when it made its mark on the American landscape with vehicles such as the 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible and other vehicles designed to denote understated luxury.

The MKZ is the first of four new vehicles coming over the next four years from Lincoln.

The print, broadcast and digital media campaign starts Monday.

A new Lincoln app for mobile devices not only shows images of the new cars but shows past Lincoln ads and how they could be reimagined today.

This is the first Lincoln campaign from HudsonRouge, the new WPP-owned Lincoln agency based in New York that was created to promote the brand. Lincoln also recently opened its own dedicated design studio in Dearborn.

Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press