Ford has spent years renting celebrities to sell its wares, and its latest hire is a comedian whose main qualification is that he can’t work on his own car. Nate Bargatze is the face of a new ad campaign built to lure customers back to the dealership service bay, and the pitch is aimed squarely at people who have no idea what happens under the hood.
The effort is called “Real Parts. Real Pros. Real Easy.,” and it rests on three selling points: genuine parts, technicians trained specifically on your vehicle, and a convenient experience. Two spots have launched so far, focused on Ford technicians and mobile service, with more to come. Ford plans to keep the campaign running throughout 2027.
The motivation is money. Independent shops have been gaining favor with vehicle owners lately, according to Ford, and the automaker wants to claw back a slice of the profitable service business that keeps walking out the door. Ford isn’t hiding the logic. Bargatze got the job because he openly admits he doesn’t understand cars, according to the automaker.
“We went looking for someone who could make vehicle service feel simple. We found a comedian who admits he doesn’t understand it,” said Brett Burin, executive director, U.S. Ford Customer Service Division Marketing Sales and CX.
“Nate Bargatze has talked in his stand-up about not being a car guy, and that’s exactly why we wanted him. Nate is our customer. He owns a Ford Bronco SUV. He doesn’t want to learn what a serpentine belt does, and he shouldn’t have to. When he says Ford Service is easy, people believe him, because he’s the last guy who’d pretend to be an expert.”
So the strategy is to reassure customers who don’t understand their vehicles that the dealer will handle it for them. Whether the guy who admits he doesn’t know a serpentine belt from a fan belt is the ideal figure to build trust in a service department is a question Ford has already answered for itself.
[Images: Ford]
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