USA TODAY National
For the fifth year, Ford Motor Co. is teaming up with "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," this time to do an episode in the Motor City.
"The Tonight Show" will pay its first-ever visit to Detroit on Sept. 14 for a a one-night-only special episode taped at the historic Detroit Opera House. The episode will air the following night on NBC and Sept. 16 on Peacock.
Fallon will be the first network late-night show to come to Detroit since 2006, when ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" did a week of episodes from Detroit’s Gem Theatre leading up to the Super Bowl at Ford Field.
Ford, which has a longstanding partnership with NBCUniversal, and "The Tonight Show" are entering their fifth year of working together. This time, Ford is teaming with the show for an episode that will spotlight a lineup of guests with deep Detroit roots.
According to a news release, Ford and its philanthropic arm, Ford Philanthropy, have supported the Detroit Opera House for two decades, specifically the Opera House's mission to expand the arts to new audiences and communities.
Ford and Fallon have deep ties
Fallon is a well-known fan of Ford and owns Ford vehicles, according to Ford Authority. It's common to see the comedian tout various Ford cars and services, even in paid ads. In August, he went for a test drive with Ford CEO Jim Farley in a Mustang Supercar.
Earlier this year, Ford sponsored Fallon’s Kentucky Derby Puppy Predictor, which relies on puppies to choose the winning horse in the race. Fallon’s Ford-sponsored segments included comic efforts to interview the participating dogs on The Tonight Show.
Fallon and Ford have also long been linked in creative promotions for the automaker. Back in 2014, Fallon held a contest to choose who would sell him a Ford 150 King Ranch. In the “Fingers on a 4X4" competition, 10 Ford salespeople from across the country put one hand on a Ford F150 located on the U.S.S. Intrepid on New York’s Hudson River.
Through the years, Fallon has done taped segments, songs, test drives with Farley and in-studio games like Fallon’s 2023 electric go-kart race with Formula 1 driver Sergio (Checo) Pérez. Farley was an adviser for the segment.
In August 2022, Fallon stopped by the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to hang out with Farley and factory workers who build the all-electric F-150 Lightning truck.
In March, Fallon donned a fake moustache and a Ford uniform to play a Ford Mobile Service technician in a taped segment that mixed comedy with advertising. He paid a service call on a couple’s home and advised them how Ford Mobile Service gives people more time to read books, garden, take up mixed martial arts, fight Sasquatch and so on.
Ford's other celebrity partners
Ford has ties with other celebrities as well. For example, actor Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle fame, works closely with Ford Philanthropy. The Oscar-nominated star volunteered to be in Detroit to emcee the event to kick off Ford's new philanthropy program: Ford Building Together. The program aims to unite Ford's nationwide dealership network and employees so that they can provide more efficient relief during disasters. Ford is partnering with four charities in the new program.
Cranston's famous voice – a deep, guttural baritone – won him a contract as the voice of Ford commercials starting in October 2018 with the launch of the "Built Ford Proud" campaign, according to Ad Age. He has also voiced Ford Philanthropy promotional videos.
Before that, he revealed that he has bought several F-150 crew cab pickups over the years, donating them to charities to use after hurricanes to rescue people in flooded areas.
As for his personal car, Cranston has been driving an all-electric Mustang Mach-E for the past few years.
The "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" is nominated for a 2025 Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series category for its digital exclusive series "The Tonight Show: During Commercial Break."
The show is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, who produces "Saturday Night Live," and produced by Chris Miller and Gerard Bradford. Typically, "The Tonight Show" tapes before a live studio audience from Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
Contact pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford teams up with 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' in Detroit on Sept. 14
Reporting by Jamie L. LaReau and Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
AlterNet
19thnews
Nola Sports
CNBC Television
The Hill
@MSNBC Video
Washtington City Paper
New York Post Video
US Magazine