ABOUT THE PROJECT
How does Ford Racing celebrate 125 years of legacy while launching a new era of F1 performance?
Ford Racing and Red Bull Racing hosted a joint Launch Week experience in Detroit, celebrating their historic F1 powertrain partnership and bringing fans closer to the biggest stories of the 2026 Race Season.
Imagination shaped a week-long launch experience that brought thousands of employees, creators, and global media together in Detroit. The campaign celebrated 125 years of heritage as America’s Race Team while marking Ford’s hotly anticipated return to Formula 1 in partnership with Red Bull Racing. Through large-scale projections at the iconic Michigan Central Station and the reveal of the first-ever Ford Racing production vehicle, the project transformed a corporate milestone into a bold, global cultural moment.
CHALLENGE
To kick off the 2026 Race Season, Ford Racing faced a multi-layered challenge: celebrate 125 years of history, attract a new generation of global fans, and reveal their first-ever production vehicle – all while announcing a return to the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1. The team needed to unify diverse stakeholders from Ford Motor Company and Red Bull Racing to deliver a disruptive experience that felt both authentically Detroit and globally relevant.
OUR IMPACT
- 00m
- combined social views across Ford Racing and Red Bull platforms
- 000m
- livestream views (highest-reaching Ford Racing stream in the last three years)
- $222k+
- in merchandise sales, breaking all previous sales records
- 0
- global locations hosted dedicated employee watch parties across eight countries
THE OUTCOME
A city-wide takeover
Detroit served as the primary stage for a series of high-impact public and media moments. To kick things off, Ford Racing took over the Detroit Auto Show, hosting a media reveal of the off-road performance-tuned Bronco RTR. A massive joint Season Launch event at the iconic Michigan Central Station then served as the focal point of the week, with Dax Shepard hosting a night of high-energy reveals, Red Bull trick riders and stunning large-scale architectural projections that transformed the station into a canvas of Ford’s racing future.
Global employee connection
The launch extended far beyond Detroit, designed to foster pride within the brand’s global workforce. Imagination coordinated dedicated watch parties in 10 locations across 8 different countries, ensuring that Ford employees worldwide were part of the historic return to F1. This unified approach ensured the “Season Launch” wasn’t just an external marketing exercise, but a significant internal culture-building moment.
Launching the first-ever Ford Racing production vehicle
A major milestone of the week was the unveiling of the Mustang Dark Horse SC, the first-ever production vehicle from Ford Racing. By surrounding the reveal with custom merchandise pop-ups and a constant rhythm of live, surprise-and-delight moments, the campaign moved beyond traditional automotive launches to create an immersive lifestyle experience that resonated with enthusiasts and new fans alike.
Our Ford Racing Season Launch for 2026 was by far our most ambitious programme ever in our 125-year history. To deliver such an event, we needed the best talent possible from around the world, and the team at Imagination were the obvious choice to deliver an event of this scale. Planning started a year out, and from day one, the Imagination team tackled the project with their customary passion and eye for excellence. From the impactful projection on the outside of the iconic Station at Michigan Central to the finer details of seamlessly managing a complex program featuring drivers, executives, celebrities, and live reveal moments, the team delivered. Overall, the event achieved record results in terms of media and social coverage and gave Ford Racing the perfect stage to kick off our busiest year ever, including our return to F1 with Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. We are so grateful to Imagination for their creativity, their hard work and their top-class delivery of this incredible project.
Jay Ward and Jeannee Kirkaldy Global Director of Ford Racing Communications, and Global Marketing Manager, Ford Racing
VALUE
For the audience
Fans were given unprecedented access to the inner workings of a Formula 1 partnership through a high-energy, entertainment-led experience. Whether attending in person at Michigan Central Station or joining via the record-breaking livestream, the audience felt a genuine human connection to the brand, moving from passive observers to active participants in Ford Racing’s next chapter.
For the brand
The campaign successfully positioned Ford Racing as a modern, high-performance global leader, securing its highest-reaching digital engagement in three years. By blending 125 years of heritage with the cutting-edge allure of Formula 1, Ford strengthened its market leadership, broke commercial records for merchandise, and established a powerful creative platform for the busiest year in Ford Racing’s history.
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