Background: 

People often hesitate to buy electric vehicles (EVs) due to range anxiety—the fear that EVs can't go the distance. Ford set out to challenge this perception in the most dramatic way possible: by setting the record for the first solo circumnavigation of the world in an EV.

Charge Around the Globe reimagined a groundbreaking expedition from Ford’s past. A century ago, Aloha Wanderwell became the first woman to drive around the world in a Ford Model T. In 2024, travel creator and influencer Lexie Limitless took on the challenge to become the first person to complete the journey in an EV—the new all-electric Ford Explorer. The result is a highly entertaining, high stakes, 3 part documentary series that runs on Amazon Prime. 

Creative idea:

Spanning an epic 200 days, 6 continents, 27 countries, and over 30,000 kilometres, the journey tested both driver and vehicle. BAFTA-winning director Chris Faith and producer Mark Saben, from Race Across the World, helped to plan out and capture the entire adventure. More than a campaign, it became an authentic torture test of the Explorer’s capabilities. Along the way, Lexie aimed to break a world record while overcoming real challenges, from navigating EV charging infrastructure in remote locations to connecting with trailblazers who shared her spirit of exploration, including people like the Black Mambas, the world’s first female anti-poaching unit from South Africa.

The journey pushed both driver and vehicle to the limit—navigating sickness, border crossings, and real-world charging obstacles: load shedding in South Africa, domestic charging in India, incompatible chargers in Zimbabwe, and relying on solar panels in the Atacama Desert.

The drama of the arduous journey, interspersed with inspiring guest stars allowed us to engage and entertain audiences, while educating them about the Ford Explorer EV’s capabilities along the way. 

Audience insight:

Our audiences were adventurous men and women across Europe. A small segment of them engaged in highly outdoorsy, active lifestyles, such as marathon running or triathlons. However, the majority of our target audience are people with families who aspire to go outside a little more and be more active, and who live quite ordinary lives. We believed that an adventure of this scale presented a strong opportunity to inspire both audiences to catch the adventure bug, emotionally connect with the Ford brand over a shared love of exploration, and perhaps feel emboldened enough to test out a new Explorer. 

Channel Selection: 

Vehicles are a big purchase, and EVs - with their new technology - cause a whole host of hesitations amongst prospective buyers. This meant we needed to select a platform with long dwell times, where people could take their time to familiarise themselves with the all-electric Ford Explorer. For that reason, we partnered with Amazon Prime to stream our documentary series, so people had the opportunity to spend time with the vehicle and watch Lexie put it through its paces. 

Lexie simultaneously streamed real-time trip updates from her own social media channels, alongside updates from the trip on Ford’s owned media channels.  

Results:

With over 450,000 viewers in the UK watching more than 9 million minutes on Amazon Prime, the series earned Critic’s Choice recognition in The Sunday Times and Daily Mail.

The journey attracted global media attention, solidifying Ford’s leadership in EV technology. In the UK, awareness of the Explorer nameplate rose from zero to #1 in its category, while Ford’s brand consideration rose by 19%.

With support from locals and a global audience that generated 200 million views across Instagram and TikTok, Lexie and Ford made history, setting a world record as the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an electric vehicle. More than a campaign, it became a true test of the Explorer’s capability and the future of electric travel.

Episodes: 

Charge Around The Globe