Nearly a half million attendees converged upon New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend for the 2015 ESSENCE Festival with Ford Motor Company. The annual 4-day Festival, which took place July 2-5, featured entertainment, empowerment, and cultural experiences during the day and the world’s best performers each night and 2015 marks Ford’s seventh consecutive year as exclusive automotive sponsor of one of the most anticipated festivals of the year!
Ford has always been the pinnacle of NOLA entertainment and fun at ESSENCE Festival. The Ford Superlounge at the Superdome brought some of the most exciting talent, including performances by Lianne La Havas, Elle Varner, Andra Day, Esperanza Spalding and others. Ford also partnered with SiriusXM to bring the performers front and center with fans, including Charlie Wilson, Avant, Raheem Devaughn and more.
“Ford Motor Company shares in ESSENCE’s commitment to the African American community on this widely celebrated weekend of fun and empowerment. This annual festival is something we look forward to, seeking new ways every year to engage and excite consumers. The ESSENCE Festival affords us the opportunity to demonstrate our Go Further brand promise and showcase Ford’s latest vehicle lineup.”
– Shawn Thompson, manager, Ford multicultural marketing
The all-new Ford GT was undoubtedly the star of the festival and sat front and center at the Ford display area. The all-new supercar serves as the pinnacle product of the new Ford Performance group, setting new standards for Ford innovation in light-weighting, aerodynamics and EcoBoost engine technology.
Festival-goers even had the opportunity to take a test drive in Ford’s newest products at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. By simply taking a test drive and signing up to learn more about Ford’s lineup, festival fans instantly earned $750 cash towards the purchase of their next Ford car or truck! Vehicles available for test drives included the 2015 Edge, Focus hatchback, Fusion, Mustang, Taurus, Flex, Escape, F-150 and Explorer.
2015 marks Ford’s 21st year of support in the fight against breast cancer. Ford continued to raise awareness and education by informing festival attendees about the importance of early detection. To date, Ford has donated more than $115 million to the cause including sales proceeds of The Ford Warriors in Pink line of apparel and accessories available exclusively at fordcares.com. Ford Warriors in Pink also donated $20 for each of the first 250 test drives to Young Survival Coalition.
One VERY LUCKY ESSENCE Festival attendee left NOLA as the new owner of a 2015 Ford Mustang! As Ford continues to celebrate 50 years of the iconic pony car, all weekend long festival attendees registered for a chance to win keys to the all-new Mustang by visiting the Ford booth inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Festival-goers can relive all the photos and fun from ESSENCE Festival weekend using the hashtags #FordUP and #ESSENCEFest. To learn more about Ford’s newest products, log on to www.ford.com.
