Media attending the celebratory affair at Parc Paragon were treated to an exclusive preview of the Fiesta’s new television commercial, which features ‘pixelation’ computer imagery never before used in a Thailand TV spot. The launch event was also attended by several VIP guests and a collection of hot Thai celebrities.

“Today we celebrate the launch of our all-new Ford Fiesta -- a globally successful car, designed in Europe, manufactured in Thailand and now on sale across the country at all of our Ford dealers,” said Peter Fleet, president, Ford ASEAN. “The pre-launch response to Fiesta has been quite extraordinary. Now that cars are at our showrooms and available for test drive, we are so excited that customers will be able to come and experience Fiesta for themselves. We are confident they will feel the difference!”

The new Ford Fiesta offers a best-in-class package with a number of exclusive features, delivering unmatched value for money in the fast-growing B-car segment. It is available in three series levels – the 1.4L ‘Style’ and 1.6L ‘Trend’ and ‘Sport’ models – in five-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles. Pricing ranges from THB 529,000-699,000.

The Fiesta is available in a full rainbow of attractive colors, including Black Mica, Cool White, Highlight Silver, Metropolitan Gray for all models, plus Sparkling Gold and Phantom Blue for the four-door model, and True Red, Aurora Blue and Chili Orange for the five-door model.

Pre-Launch Activities Fuel the Fiesta Frenzy

A number of successful pre-launch activities have helped fuel an unprecedented amount of excitement with Thai consumers.

Among them is Ford’s nationwide ‘Love Fiesta…Snap It Now!’ campaign that kicked-off in July and has included a series of Fiesta “pop-up” preview events in and around Bangkok, as well as ten upcountry provinces. The “Love Fiesta” campaign has fully leveraged Thailand’s huge Facebook community to encourage people to become a Fiesta fan, snap their favorite photo of Fiesta and upload it to www.facebook.com/fordfiestathailand. Fiesta fans are able to vote on their favorite snaps, and the photo with the most votes when the campaign concludes on September 15 will win a new 1.6L Fiesta Sport model.

The incredibly successful campaign has been supported by live broadcasts from Virgin Radio at the Bangkok pop-ups, and appearances by John, Kan and Ploy in the provinces along the “Love Fiesta” tour, which made its way through cities that included Chonburi, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Korat, Udon Thani, Nakon Sawan, Had Yai, Surat Thani and Phuket.

The widespread exposure has helped drive the number of fans on the Ford Fiesta Thailand Facebook page to more than 20,000, placing it among Thailand’s top 25 most popular Facebook sites, and it’s still growing! In addition to voting on their favorite Fiesta snaps, the Fiesta fans are highly-engaged in exchanging their thoughts, experiences and ideas about the exciting new Fiesta.

“The level of pre-launch excitement and interest in the Fiesta is unprecedented in Thailand,” explained Saroj Kiatfuengfoo, senior vice president, Ford Thailand. “It is already clear that Thai consumers love the Fiesta, and are very keen to feel the difference that it delivers.”

In addition to the fast-growing Fiesta Facebook community, online traffic to Fiesta’s ‘showroom’ site – www.ford.co.th/fiesta - jumped from 60,000 visits in June to more than 300,000 per month in both July and August.

Innovative Television Commercial

In creating the new Fiesta television commercial, Ford utilizes an innovative form of computer imagery known as ‘pixelation’ – the first time it has been used in a TV advertisement produced for Thailand - to help highlight the Fiesta’s class-leading features.

With the car as the star, the pixelation provides creative visual imagery that connects viewers with the cool and simple commands of the Fiesta’s Voice Control function and its ease-of-use. The colorful and entertaining Fiesta television spot will begin airing nationwide on September 2.   

Exclusive Features Redefine Small Car segment

Helping drive the Ford Fiesta’s popularity among Thais are its eye-catching ‘kinetic design’ that gives the car its distinctive appearance and immediate appeal, as well as a number of premium and segment-exclusive features that help define its best-in-class offering.

Among these is a connectivity package in the Sport model that features Voice Control technology paired with Bluetooth, which provides wireless connectivity to a mobile phone. Voice commands allow users to make and receive phone calls, change the radio station or CD track that is playing, or even adjust the temperature inside the car.

Additional first-in-class features include the Ti-VCT engine with PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission that provide a quiet, smooth-shifting ride and leading fuel efficiency; Electronic Stability Program that provides precise traction with all road conditions, and a Hill Launch Assist function that makes stopping and starting on steep inclines much easier.

“Fiesta delivers an unbeatable package in its class, with kinetic design styling, superior fuel efficiency, class-leading safety features and a voice-command and connectivity package that is only found in vehicles that cost five times as much,” explained Fleet.  

The Fiesta is built at the world-class AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) plant in Rayong. In addition to Thailand, Fiesta will be exported across the ASEAN region and Tri-Nation markets of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.