When the term “Mondeo Man” was coined, it was shorthand for the floating voters of Middle Britain being wooed by Labour before a general election.
It conveyed an average man, driving an average car, striving to improve his circumstances.
But the boss of Ford recently complained that the phrase had “not done us too many favours” and had driven the company’s image down market.
Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain chairman and chief executive, said “Mondeo Man” – first used in the 1997 general election that made Tony Blair prime minister – did for the firm’s cars what “bog-standard comprehensive”, coined by Mr Blair’s adviser Alastair Campbell, did for state schools.
Mr Ovenden said too many potential customers believed Fords were “average” cars, when the opposite was true in terms of style, quality and technology.
More than 1.4 million Mondeos have been sold in Britain since its launch in 1992.
LOSING GROUND TO THE GERMANS
Last year, 25 000 were sold, with 22 000 sold so far this year, but manufacturers such as BMW, Audi and Volkswagen have been increasingly targeting Ford’s traditional target audience and the company risks being squeezed between the top German brands and budget marques such as Skoda and Kia.
Mr Ovenden said: “I don’t think ‘Mondeo Man’ did us any favours. Everyone has grown up with Ford of Britain. People often mistake commonplace for average.
“Volkswagen in Germany is commonplace. But it is not seen as average. Does anyone say the Audi A4 or the BMW 3-series is average because it is commonplace?”
He revealed that the company now planned to “stretch” the brand, with upmarket ‘Vignale’ versions of its cars in 2015, starting with the new Mondeo that will be launched next year.
Mr Ovenden, 49, who started with Ford as a graduate trainee 28 years ago, said Vignale Fords would have “unique interior and exterior design touches, premium craftsmanship, exclusive specification and technologies.”
He said: “Since Henry Ford put the world on wheels the Ford brand has been about democratising. I don’t see why we can’t democratise luxury.” -Daily Mail