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Ford is taking a big chance with a big social media campaign revolving around the new Ford Fiesta, and it just might work.

With the new sub-compact Fiesta hitting the market soon, Ford is going to be handing over a set of car keys to one hundred web savvy drivers.

These drivers will be given a Fiesta for six months, complete with insurance and fuel.  The only catch?  During that time they must post their thoughts on the car to media services like YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

ford fiesta

The lucky participants were chosen based their “social vibrancy rating”, which is based on how much of a following each applicant had and and on how many platforms.

This score was then combined with a “creativity grade”, video skills and their ability to hook a viewer within the first few seconds.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

When Ford first tossed around the idea of loaning 100 cars without the ability to control what the drivers might say, Ford’s sales chief emerged as the leading internal skeptic.

“I was like, ‘Nah, go to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica [Calif.], go to Royal Oak [Mich.] on a hot night with the kids out for ice cream,’” said Jim Farley, Ford’s global vice president for sales and marketing. “Pull up with 10 vehicles, give away free T-shirts, have people do test drives, broadcast the whole thing on the Web.”

Mr. Farley said his reluctance softened when a group of sons and daughters recruited from Ford’s largest dealers endorsed the six-month online effort.

“The interest in the Web [campaign] had far exceeded my expectations,” he says. “My hunch was pretty traditional.”

The bold experiment is set to begin later this month. Below is a vido clarifying the campaign further, followed by the audition video from Brad Nelson, one of the lucky Fiesta winners…

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