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Ford Moves Bronco Reveal Date to July 13

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Ford moves the 2021 Bronco reveal date to July 13 following backlash
Ford moves the 2021 Bronco reveal date to July 13 following backlash
Photo: Ford

Despite initially saying that it would not change its plans, Ford has announced that it’s changing the date of its Bronco reveal to July 13. The debut was set to take place on July 9, which is also the birthday of O.J. Simpson. Ford moves the Bronco reveal days after a spokesman said that the date would not be changed.


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Simpson’s infamous 1994 low-speed chase in a white 1993 Bronco resulted in a link between the two that many suspected kept Ford from bringing the SUV back for many years. Ford announced the return of the Bronco in January 2017, and since then, it’s seemingly been distant from its nefarious association with Simpson and the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

That is until earlier this month when Ford on Instagram revealed that the all-new 2021 Bronco was to premiere on July 9. That date is also the 73rd birthday of Simpson. While Mike Levine, Ford’s product communications manager for North America, noted that the choice of date was “purely coincidental,” the headlines focused solely on the inexplicable blunder rather than the vehicle itself.

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On Thursday, Tanya Brown, the sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson, told The Detroit Free Press that she wasn’t convinced that the choice of date wasn’t “a good marketing twist.”

Brown told Freep, “My first reaction was, ‘are you kidding me? This is funny?’”

On Friday, a separate story from Freep reported that UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn and Vice President Marcus Sheckles both believed that Ford should incorporate an anti-domestic violence campaign into the Bronco’s reveal. Though Simpson was ultimately acquitted of both murders (but later found liable in a civil trial), his history of domestic violence is well-documented.

“What about the families? Certain things are triggers. They say, ‘Man, I lost my sister to domestic violence,’” Dunn said. “It’s a trigger point for something not intended by Ford Motor Company but why not take it into a positive? Let’s give homage and remember those who did survive domestic violence.”

Ford sent out a tweet Friday afternoon saying that the Bronco reveal event is being moved to the 13 in an effort to be “sensitive and respectful to some concerns raised previously about the date, which was purely coincidental.” Ford has also changed the date in the original Instagram announcement.

As for whether Ford will create an anti-domestic violence public service message, Ford has not offered any comment.  


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