On May 14, 2009, Ford announced a new campaign to put some 3,000 small-business owners and consumers in 13 major cities behind the wheel of the 2010 Transit Connect commercial van - even before the vehicle reaches dealer showrooms this summer. The multi-part "Transit Connect Across America" campaign kicks off on May 17 in Washington, D.C., at the National Small-Business Week conference and includes test drives with consumers; individual one-on-one drive experiences; sponsorship of small business conferences; print advertising. Transit Connect is a brand-new offering for small businesses in the United States," said Len Deluca, Ford's director of Commercial Vehicles. "We call it a 'white space' vehicle because there is nothing else like it on the market. With large capacity, compact size, and fuel economy, the Transit Connect will appeal to business owners who have had to make do with other vehicles that weren't just right."
To experience the versatile Transit Connect, Ford is offering customers an opportunity to drive the Transit Connect over a pre-planned course designed to highlight the vehicle's maneuverability and usefulness. The drives will be set up under tents in the parking lots of busy retail locations - frequented by professionals and consumers alike - across the country. The creative executions illustrate diametrically opposed small businesses - a pastry chef and a personal trainer - both claiming that Ford was "thinking of me" during the vehicle's development. Transit Connect's applicability to diverse commercial uses comes together with the tagline, "specific for everyone."