Ford Fiesta Debuts on American Idol

The new Ford Fiesta gets a major marketing push with a 60-second spot taglined "It's a pretty big deal" (above) that will air in the US during tonight's American Idol (with which it's running a sweepstakes). The campaign will also run in US theaters this summer.

The Fiesta, Ford's first subcompact car in the US since 1997, is being heavily promoted as the automaker vies to "become known as a manufacturer of high-quality small cars," as the Detroit Free Press notes.

Helping toward that goal, the 2011 Fiesta was just named the most fuel efficient model in its subcompact class by the EPA, outperforming the Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris.

Ford's year-old viral "Fiesta Movement" social media push to build buzz for the brand includes an unusual twist: a socially plugged in Fiesta dubbed AJ for its American Journey — it's currently on its way from Dearborn, MI, to San Mateo, CA.

Intel, Microsoft and the University of Michigan are helping AJ stay connected, using Twitter, Foursquare and the Fiesta's Facebook page to keep in touch with fans on the road.