The "No Boundaries" campaign, created by WPP Group-owned J Walter Thompson, will break on February 25 in the US and will not focus on any particular brand. Four 60-second spots called "family", "legacy", "discovery" and "built Ford tough" will feature William Ford, historical images, actors and Ford employees and dealers.
The motor company has been suffering in the US over the departure of chief executive, Jacques Nasser, posting its first loss for nearly 10 years and the recent announcement of 35,000 job cuts. The company is also still feeling the effects of the long-running fallout of the Firestone tyre scandal.
Jim O'Connor, Ford Division president, said: "These new Ford ads are designed to crystallise who we are and what we do."
A print campaign is set to follow the TV campaign, which will run on prime-time network television.
The company announced the ad campaign along with plans to launch a new GT40 model, based on the two-seater sports car, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hour between 1966 and 1969.
Mr Ford said: "Our revitalisation plan is centred on products. The company that builds and delivers the best cars and trucks wins and we're going to win."
He will join a long line of company chiefs who have fronted their own advertising campaigns, including Victor Kiam, famous for his Remington ad slogan "I liked it so much I bought the company", and more recently Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has fronted ads for his EasyGroup companies.
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