Mid-Life Wish List: 50 Things to See at 50, in the 2015 Ford Mustang

2015 Ford Mustang: The wish list beckons

If you could go anywhere and do anything, in a Mustang, what would your itinerary look like?

That was the question Ford had when the car maker sat down to plan the campaign to launch the 50th anniversary Mustang.

2015 Ford Mustang Icon 50 Event

“We could focus on the powertrain and the technology” in the Mustang, said Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global marketing, who noted that the car’s power and ability are world class. But the magic of the Mustang is more about “what it’s like to be on a road trip with no schedule, to be free.”

For Mustang, it’s all about the lifestyle the car affords its drivers.

To measure its customers sense of adventure, Ford asked 1,000 respondents; they found that as we get older, we want to do –and do– more

And those drivers are increasingly more adventurous; as we get older we are more likely to be bolder in our choices, Ford found in a recent survey. Interestingly, becoming a parent inspires people to feel more comfortable with adventurous choices. After all, there’s nothing like one-handed diaper changes for a wiggly toddler while holding an infant to make you feel as if you can do anything.

To set the stage for the roll-out of the model, which will start to make its way into dealer showrooms this month, Ford wanted to inspire a greater journey. So the auto maker announced that its marketing campaign will do just that: inspire adventure. To pinpoint one-of-a-kind adventure, Ford has assembled a group of leading culture experts.

Not a spoiler: the curve of the tail fin on the 50th Anniversary Mustang, and a view that the company hopes many customers will see as they open and close the hatch on road trips this year

The campaign, called Icon 50, will craft an iconic list of people and places to inspire a sense of adventure. Ford will roll out the Icon 50 list, a wish-list of itineraries and celebration of people with no connection to the car, but rather, known for self expression and accomplishment. Ford will stage events based on the list, with announcements coming later this month.

The Icon 50 Culture Panel: (left to right) Brian Balthazar, Jim Farley, Lauren Drell, Matt Watts, Tim Zagat, Nina Zagat and Scott Burton

Ford’s culture panel includes Brian Balthazar, comedian and producer of ABC’s The View, Tim and Nina Zagat, founder of the Zagat series of food and culture guides, Matt Watts, director of music and marketing at Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, Scott Burton, executive editor of ESPN the Magazine and Lauren Drell, editor at Mashable. Each will contribute insight to the Icon 50 list and aid Ford in creating the unique and iconic experiences that, it believes, is best seen from behind the wheel of a Mustang.

An icon in its own right: 2015 Ford Mustang GT

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Scotty Reiss

Journalist, entrepreneur and mom, Scotty likes to say the automotive business found her, she didn't pursue it. But recognizing the opportunity to give voice to powerful female consumers and create a voice to match their spending power, her mission became to empower women as car buyers and owners. A career-long journalist, she has written for the New York Times, Town & Country, Adweek and co-authored the book Stew Leonard, My Story, a biography of the founder of the iconic grocery company Stew Leonard’s. Her love of cars started when her father insisted she learn to change the oil in her MG Midget, but now it mostly plays out in the many road trips taken with her family.

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Scotty Reiss

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