As US sales drop, Ford hires man behind Allstate's 'Mayhem' campaign to lead marketing

The man behind those Allstate Insurance "mayhem" television ads has been picked to lead marketing at Ford Motor Co.

Mark LaNeve, a former marketing chief at General Motors, will start the new job on Feb. 1. He'll try to reverse Ford's declining sales.

The 55-year-old LaNeve replaces John Felice, who is retiring after 30 years with Ford. LaNeve will be vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service.

Ford's U.S. sales fell just under 1 percent last year even though the market grew by nearly 6 percent. The company lost almost a full percentage point of market share.

From 2009 until 2012, LaNeve led marketing at Allstate. He launched the popular "mayhem" campaign that features an actor who causes car crashes, fires, and other insurance disasters.