The 2021 Ford Bronco is dropping next week with a ridiculously robust media blitz you will have a hard time ignoring. Here’s a rundown of how and when to see the 4x4’s final form first, because you’ve got options!
The 2021 Ford Bronco reveal is scheduled for July 13, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.
At that point, you should be able to see the two-door Bronco, four-door Bronco, and smaller Bronco Sport all over the internet. It’s also getting worked into some Disney advertorial content.
From a Ford press release:
“Ford Motor Company will reveal the all-new Ford Bronco 4x4 family on Monday, July 13 across Disney’s Media Networks – marking the first-ever, prime-time product reveal roadblock across Disney’s broadcast, cable, digital and streaming properties, including ABC, ESPN, National Geographic and Hulu.”
I guess all that marketing money Ford stopped spending on Facebook got put to work elsewhere! Here’s the rest of the rundown for your consumption planning if you’re keen to watch the Bronco reveal in real-time.
Ford’s own social media channels
Ford will “share additional special content with fans on its YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels” starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on July 13, 2020 “including additional details on the performance strengths of each new Bronco model.”
You can also check those platforms now for teasers and trailers about the Bronco.
ABC
The four-door Bronco will be in a “three-minute film starring country music singer Kip Moore during CMA Best of Fest, “the Country Music Association’s three-hour concert experience,” on ABC. That runs on Monday, July 13, 8:00–11:00 p.m. eastern time and the Bronco bit is supposed to be early.
ESPN
A video with professional climber Brooke Raboutou and a Bronco Sport will be on during the 8:00 p.m. SportsCenter broadcast.
National Geographic
“Academy Award-winning director and acclaimed cinematographer, photographer, and professional climber Jimmy Chin will spotlight the all-new Bronco 2-door model during National Parks: Yosemite.” I’m told that runs at 8 p.m. eastern also, on the National Geographic channel. “Additionally, Chin will judge a hashtag challenge contest and appear in an Instagram Story featuring the Bronco on NatGeo’s Instagram account.”
Hulu
I’m sure the ABC country music thing, ESPN climbing clip, and Nat Geo video will all be uploaded to YouTube a bunch of times in short order, but they’ll all be officially restreamed on Hulu on Tuesday, July 14. “The films will be available to viewers through interactive ad formats, and within a curated collection of outdoor and survival-themed content aligned with the Bronco lifestyle.”
I have to say I’m pretty fatigued on Bronco content already, we’ve been getting teased about it for 1,966 years already after all. But I think this might be the objectively “biggest” new-vehicle product reveal of my career as a car industry commentator, simply because “new Bronco” lives squarely in the middle of a Venn diagram between “interesting to car nerds” and “mass-appeal” in a way no other car has in a long, long time.
Nobody who wasn’t already into cars cared about the new Supra, even less so for the NSX. The Corvette and Dodge Demon piqued the interest of more folks, but even those don’t have the instant recognition of the Bronco brand. Plus, the idea of escaping to the woods has never been more appealing for the general public and the idea of a fresh Bronco plays right into that.
The Tesla Model 3 launch was huge too, significant for the industry and definitely grabbed the attention of people who previously didn’t care about cars. But the Bronco’s got better generation-spanning abilities and frankly, I’m not sure there’s going to be a vehicle with the same level of broad reach as the Bronco before I retire.
That’s not to say all interest will translate to sales, but pretty much everybody’s going to know something about this SUV by this time next week.