Baywatch is Coming Back, and so is the Ranger. So, We Could See a Modern Take on this Nineties Combo Commercial
The Ranger is expected to return to the Ford Motor Company’s North American lineup sometime around 2020, and the new Baywatch movie is slated to arrive in theaters this coming May, starring, coincidentally enough, Ford spokesman Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. So, it seems like a fitting time to find a commercial that shows off the Ford Ranger by capitalizing on the popular Baywatch franchise.
Believe or not, there is actually an older Ford Ranger commercial that used the original Baywatch TV series to show off the functionality of the compact pickup. Therefore, for this week’s Throwback Thursday,” we take a look at that awesomely-’90s commercial.
The original Baywatch TV show – packed full of beautiful women running on the beach in bathing suits – ran from 1989 through 1999. The prime-time drama followed a group of lifeguards in L.A. County as they did their best to keep SoCal beaches safe while looking beautiful doing it. Starring Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff, the show was a huge hit. Because of the show, real-life lifeguards became celebrities of sorts. And with some of these folks using a Ford Ranger, the Motor Company turned to a group of professional lifeguards to talk up the usefulness of the small truck.
The commercial is filmed much like the Baywatch TV series, with a bunch of shaky, jumpy camera work as the lifeguards talk about how much they like the Ford Ranger that they use every day. Of course, in fine Baywatch fashion, the group picked to talk about the Ranger – both male and female – are all as attractive as the members of the TV show cast.
Sure, the commercial is cheesy now. But back in 1995, the Baywatch craze would have made this commercial perfect for appealing to young, active — and impossibly good-looking — truck buyers.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
