FIRST ON FOX — Comedian Nate Bargatze, the Tennessee native and dad who has made a name for himself with his clean-cut, family-friendly comedy, is stressing relatability, simplicity and trust as he moves into a new realm.
He’s the average guy who doesn’t know it all — and freely admits he needs help.
Bargatze says in a new ad, “Look, I don’t know how to take care of my truck. But the technicians at Ford Service — they do.”
The Ford Motor Company on Monday announced Bargatze as the face of a new “Real Parts. Real Pros. Real Easy” customer service campaign.
“I haven’t really done a lot of stuff like this,” the comedian told Fox News Digital in a recent on-camera interview.
He said that when Ford asked him about being involved, “I was super excited. I’m a big Ford [fan]. I have a Ford Bronco. I love Ford — it’s an iconic company. They’ve been around for a long time.”
He said everyone wants “people they can rely on” — and “I think Ford’s done the best at it. And especially with their service business, I think they’re doing a great job. It’s an iconic brand that’s also evolving and moving forward.”
Bargatze said he likes that the company is making the servicing of cars “simple for you, and they use all real Ford parts. … The pros are trained by Ford.”
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He said his Ford Bronco “gets fixed a lot easier when they come to your house.”
The campaign is leaning into his relatable humor to make vehicle service feel less intimidating, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said — while highlighting its parts, factory-trained technicians and convenient-to-consumer service options.
For the average American today, Bargatze said that “everything is so polarizing, and everything is so extreme and life or death. But you know — not that [certain] things aren’t serious — but [a lot of life] is people just taking their kids to school, and they’ve got to drop off three kids, and then you’ve got a soccer game and a baseball game. And, you know, you’re just living life.”
He said things in today’s world have been “sped up, and it’s been speeding up more and more. So I think people want to take a breath, they want to take a step back. Not everything needs to be so polarizing. Things can still be just simpler, and I’ve seen that with the tour that I go on.”
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He does not include politics in his stand-up routines.
“You know, it’s a ton of people [just] coming out, and they get to have fun, and they get to laugh … and I want to be there for them.”
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He said he believes his comedy shows are a time for people to “take a break, and it’s a moment to not worry about the stresses of your life.“
That’s the parallel he sees with Ford, he said.
“It fits! Ford has their parts. So when you buy a Ford car, it’s not complicated. You have it [all] from one place. The people that are making it — they’re coming to help fix your car or take care of your car. It is from Ford. So I think it’s a big trust issue.”
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He added, “It’s their values and what they stand for and the trust that they have — that’s exactly what I want to do with making movies [and] doing stand-up. I want people to be able to rely on it and know what to expect, and not be surprised by it. And just be trusted.”
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His approach to comedy, he said, is simple and down to earth.
“I make fun of me. I make fun of myself … and I try not to go outwards.”
He said, “When you keep it that simple, that’s why it works. No one feels like when they come to the show that it’s going to be about them, or that I’m going to be making fun of something that they like or don’t like — whatever it is. I’m just talking about me and my family and stuff that we go through, the everyday kind of things.”
He added, “I think that’s why people can relate to it now. … And I think stand-up comedy can stand the test of time. It can’t get any more authentic than just a person talking to an audience.”
Peter Burke of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
