Alan Mullaly

Mad Men Star John Slattery Pitches for Lincoln Cars

Actor John Slattery (aka Roger Sterling in AMC's highly acclaimed series Mad Men) is the new star of ads for Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln cars.

In ads that break on television coverage of The Ryder Cup starting October 1, Slattery is shown behind the wheel of the MKX crossover and the MKZ Hybrid uttering ad copy that would be worthy of a Man Men brainstorming session. "If you are going to buy a new luxury car ... shouldn't there be something new about it?" asks Slattery.

The new tagline for Lincoln; "It's not just luxury. It's smarter than that." Ad agency. Team Detroit created the campaign. ("Reach higher" was the old line.)

One of Slattery's cooly delivered lines, during a touch-screen demo in the car, is: "Don't be surprised if you haven't seen technology this intuitive before." Indeed, the final graphic on the screen is not a tagline, but just "Lincoln.com," an invitation for viewers to visit a redesigned Lincoln web site to learn about the technology savvy Lincolns they probably didn't know existed.

Ford is plowing more resources into Lincoln as its only true premium/luxury brand. The company has sold off Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. At the Paris Auto Show on September 30, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said the company plans to take Lincoln into global markets in four or five years, namely China and the Middle East.

Gallery: Lincoln Cars Pitched by Mad Men Star John Slattery