They probably would appreciate a boost in sales if advertising can attract new customers (non truck & non Ford people). Ford might be trying to copy Tesla's strategy with marketing. However, the two companies target different populations and I feel Ford would benefit from advertising.

This article shows us how many new customers Ford is attracting: https://www.motor1.com/news/552814/ford-lighting-customer-ne...

That's a great point, but I haven't heard when that is going to happen. Until then, IMHO ads shouldn't be discounted by Ford (this of course assumes that Ford actually wants to convert people from ICE to EV).

The Lightning seems to be designed to convert F-150 buyers. It looks just like a regular F-150 and comes with features rural customers would love, like powering your house during blackouts and your tools away from an outlet.

It's not designed to convert existing F150 buyers.

It's designed to get the guy who has a Tesla and a Tacoma in his driveway and who sees fullsize domestic trucks as a penis extension for backwards hicks to trade both those in.

This isn't about converting existing owners. It's about growing the potential market.

This is definitely false ! I can't speak to the motivation of buyers but Ford commissioned a lot of consulting in advance of developing the Lightning and they are obsessed with trying to convert existing customers to become EV buyers.