FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2007
Ford and Business
Mogul Robert L. Johnson's Exclusive New Partnership to
Tell "Our Stories"
- Ford and Our Stories Films have
formed an exclusive new marketing alliance that includes
product placement, script integration, sponsorships, and
promotions of featured film titles.
- Our Stories Films is
a film venture between Robert L. Johnson (Founder, Black
Entertainment Television) and Hollywood super-producers
Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Producer Tracey Edmonds
will serve as OSF President
and COO.
- Our Stories Films’ debut
film “Who’s Your Caddy?”, starring actor/rapper
Big Boi, is in theatres nationwide July 27.
DEARBORN, Michigan,
July 26, 2007 – Ford
Motor Company and pioneering business leader Robert L. Johnson
announced today an exclusive, multifaceted, multi-year marketing
and promotional alliance with Our Stories Films,
Johnson’s new film venture owned in partnership with
veteran producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The first
title under OurStories Films - “Who’s
Your Caddy?” starring actor/rapper Big Boi – debuts
nationwide July 27, and features the legendary Range Rover.
Our Stories Films was launched
in 2006 to produce and distribute African American and
urban family-themed comedies. The
Ford-Our Stories Film partnership will involve all
Ford Motor Company brands and allow for a powerful approach
to reaching a coveted consumer segment – the African
American and urban audience. The multi-year marketing
and promotional alliance will include product placement and
integration in feature films, sponsorships, consumer and
dealer promotional opportunities, merchandising and other
media options.
“Ford is very excited about
this new multi-level partnership with Our Stories Films,
says Alessandro Uzielli, senior advisor, Ford Motor Company,
Global Brand Entertainment Group. “Engaging our consumers has for us been
about creating new and innovative approaches to reaching
our audience. This branded entertainment opportunity
with Our StoriesFilms allows Ford to showcase the
wide array of personalities of the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury,
Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, and essentially tell ‘our
story’ to a targeted audience.
”“Our historic partnership with Ford represents
a new day in the marketing of filmed entertainment to urban
audiences,” says Robert L. Johnson, Chairman and CEO,
The RLJ Companies. “We look forward to featuring
Ford brands in our films, and activating Ford’s extensive
marketing resources to reach urban movie goers throughout
the country.”
Cars as StarsFord
Motor Company has had a long and unique history on the
small screen and silver screen alike. In fact, Ford was the first automotive
company to recognize the power of the filmed entertainment,
placing its cars in films at the dawn of the motion picture
industry. The famous Batmobile of the
original Batman TV show is a 1955 Lincoln Futura
concept car. James Bond drove a Lincoln Continental convertible
in Thunderball, and the fraternity brothers in Animal
House used a Lincoln Continental as their signature
ride. In recent years, Snoop Doggy Dogg, as Huggy Bear
in the 2005 Starsky & Hutch movie, drives a
1976 Lincoln Continental, rapper-actor Ice Cube drove a Lincoln
Navigator in the movies Are We There Yet? and Are
We Done Yet?; Cedric the Entertainer took his
family on a cross-country misadventure in a Lincoln Navigator
in the film Johnson Family Vacation, and of course
there have been phenomenal placements in films like the Bond
hit Casino Royale and the Academy Award film Crash.
Ford continues to be active in Hollywood’s
most talked about productions with multiple vehicles appearing
in international smash hit, Oceans 13, as well
as perennially Emmy nominated televisions shows such as “24” and “Entourage.”
“The branded entertainment strategy at Ford has produced
a robust series of hits for the Ford brands over the years” says
Chuck Morrison, Executive Vice President, UniWorld Group,
Ford’s African American Agency of Record for Ford Division,
Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar and Land Rover brands. “Understanding
its importance, we saw the benefit in brokering this relationship
with OSF and our approach will be to find the right
films and opportunities to best showcase the Ford brands’ personalities
by ‘casting’ vehicles that enhance the stories,
and OSF provides the platform to achieve just that.”
UniWorld Group Inc. worked with Ford and Our StoriesFilms in
negotiating this exclusivity deal. UniWorld Group will
collaborate with Ford and Our StoriesFilms to place
the vehicles and develop the Ford marketing strategy around
each featured film.
About “Who’s
Your Caddy?”“Who's
Your Caddy?” is a hilarious, fish-out-of-water
comedy about superstar rap mogul, C-Note (Big Boi), who
runs into fierce opposition when he tries to join the super
stuffy Carolina Pines Golf & Country Club. Undeterred,
C-Note gets the brilliant idea to buy the land adjacent
to the golf club’s 17th hole, which he cleverly leverages
to gain membership. C-Note's crew wreaks havoc as they
bring their larger-than-life style to the club. As the
club’s hoighty-toighty leadership desperately tries
to revoke C-Note's membership, our hero realizes that his
family's honor – and secret record-breaking golf
history – is at stake. As he takes on the fight
of his life, C-Note pulls out all the stops to bring down
the club’s backwards establishment and welcome them
to the 21st century.
The iconic Range Rover is part of
the “Who’s
Your Caddy?” all-star cast that features Antwan
'Big Boi' Patton (ATL, Idlewild, Outkast), Terry Crews
("Everybody Hates Chris," Norbit, White Chicks,
former NFL player), Tamala Jones (Head of State. “One
on One”), Andy Milonakis (MTV’s The Andy Milonakis
Show) and Lil Wayne(Grammy-nominated rapper). It
was written by Don Michael Paul, Robert Henny and Bradley
Adelstein. Adds Morrison, “Although Ford, Lincoln
and UniWorld Group did not participate in bringing the
Range Rover to “Who’s Your Caddy?”,
the script required a luxury vehicle with superior on and
off-road capabilities, one that a rap superstar would ride,
and the Range Rover certainly fit that role.”
About Our Stories FilmsOur
Stories Films, created in 2006 by Robert L. Johnson in
partnership with Bob and Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein
Company, is focused on the development and production of
comedies for African American and urban audiences. The
studio’s first release
Who’s Your Caddy?, will debut in theaters nationwide
on Friday, July 27, 2007.
About The RLJ Companies
The RLJ Companies, founded by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment
Television, is a diverse portfolio of companies in the financial services,
asset management, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production,
and gaming industries. An innovative business network, The RLJ Companies
seeks to target undiscovered or underserved markets; then exercise solid
management to achieve results. The RLJ Companies is headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, with operations in Charlotte, Los Angeles, Florida, New York and
Puerto Rico.
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