The Winter Hero of the Year

Since 2022, Ford has been the official car partner of the Swedish National Cross-Country Ski Team. The collaboration aims to increase interest in cross-country skiing among young people and create opportunities for future generations to ski on snow. With the campaign Winter Hero of the Year, we wanted to highlight the dedicated people behind the athletes’ successes — those who have driven them to and from events, encouraged and prepared them, waxed skis, and supported them outdoors in the cold at every competition. Coaches, officials, parents, volunteers, and many more make up the winter heroes behind the stars that the campaign focuses on.

To create a strong emotional connection to the campaign, we shared Frida Karlsson’s own story — how she reached the top and the people who helped her along the way. As part of the initiative, Ford, together with Frida, established a scholarship in honor of a ‘winter hero.’ The prize money was awarded to the winning person’s ski club to promote youth participation in the sport.

The campaign launched with a main film on YouTube where Frida shared her own winter heroes. The film was edited for social media, and all content was gathered on a dedicated campaign page on ford.se, where visitors could also nominate their own winter hero via a web form. The campaign was widely distributed across digital channels, focusing on YouTube and Meta, and resulted in both broad reach and strong engagement. Ford received significant attention for its partnership with the National Cross-Country Ski Team and received many relevant nominations for the scholarship. The initiative was also highlighted in industry press, including Resumé.