Ford to Pair Land Rover With Jaguar at Y&R

As Ford Motor Co. prepares to move Land Rover’s $50 million U.S. account from GSD&M to Young & Rubicam, the carmaker said it expects to capitalize on the structure Y&R has in place to service Jaguar.

“We’ve always looked at this as a Jaguar/Land Rover team. We will gain a lot of efficiencies there,” said client vp of marketing Jon Williams, noting that both brands are part of the same Ford operating unit.

In particular, he said, Land Rover trafficking and production can be handled by the same group that has those duties for Jaguar, although creative and account management will be handled by a separate Land Rover brand group.

The account shift was prompted by a desire to work with one glo bal agency, said Wil liams. “We’ve been gradually mov ing toward having the one agency, but the big hole in the puzzle was North Amer ica,” he said.

Y&R in Irvine, Calif., also works on Ford brand Lincoln-Mercury. While the majority of Land Rover’s media account remains at WPP’s Ford Motor Media in Detroit, media planning and some spot buying will shift from GSD&M to WPP’s Mediaedge: cia, Williams said.

Land Rover will remain with GSD&M in Austin, Texas, until Oct. 10. The shop is breaking two TV spots for the Discovery today, and two ads showcasing the Land Rover “family” of vehicles will be released later this month.

No maj or creative changes are planned when the account moves to Y&R. “The philosophy here is, Y&R will evolve the work GSD&M has started,” Williams said.

GSD&M has handled the business for more than two years. Recent ads have used the tagline “The most well-traveled vehicles on Earth.”

Y&R’s first assignment for the Irvine-based client is the launch of the new three-door Freelander in late 2002.