Michael Sheridan - Innocent

When I was about 10 years old there were a number of different issues that I was learning to navigate. For adult women there was a preoccupation with feminism and equal treatment. For men there was an obsession with being known for ‘having a big one’, though, as a 10 year old in a conservative catholic family, I wasn’t completely sure about what it was a big one of. And for me, the big question was, what on earth was the Ford F150 supposed to be? The F150 was big by 1982 standards. I vaguely recall the somewhat lame marketing saying something like, “it’s a big one”. But to be honest, I hadn’t identified the target market by watching the ads, and no one I knew seemed interested in it, unless they thought it was a menace. There was clearly a disconnect between Ford and consumers. Then, one day at school we were learning about marketing. We were challenged to write a better slogan than a major brand. Make it appeal to more people. Make it connected to big issues. There was an opening here. Male camaraderie, female equality, big. My slogan, in total innocence, and I didn’t realise at the time why it was better received by students than by teachers, was, “I’ve got a big one, he’s got a big one, she’s got a big one too. “ I was sure I’d made the F150 a car for everyone.