Toyota… And other ads like that…
Mar 27th, 2007 by Simon
There’s a trend starting at Toyota - to make people look petty & vindictive. And the latest ad really takes it just too far. Methinks.
Personally, it’s not my cup of tea. Here’s why…
First, watch this ad - since it’s the main basis for my comments:
So, you get the idea - the Yaris is so important, blah, blah, blah…
But, do you need the woman to seem so vindictive and petty-minded. I love cars, and hate dents/dings/people opening the door into a wall/people sitting on my car… the works… But, and this is a big BUT for me - doesn’t this ad specifically say:
“Yaris - Driven by petty vindictive women with geeky boyfriends!”
At least, that seems to be the takeout. Which begs the question of whether people like to associate with that? Or, maybe, like me, you really want to get people over-thinking it?!
Now, rewind a bit - and you can see where this starts, but doesn’t fall victim to the same issue…
Similar strategy (the same, I’d say), but walks the line more carefully.
Next up, since I was searching and found rather a lot… is this ad for Corolla:
Now, you could say a similar thing - the driver is inconsiderate. But the action shows the dawning realisation that he’s sprayed them. It’s clear that he’s then got a mental fight to decide between getting decked and shunning his own car. All round good stuff in my books.
Which reminded me of the good old days on Toyota - and “Bugger” - one of those old-favourites ads…
Come on - simple genius, isn’t it!
And then I found another Toyota ad I’d always liked (by the way, forgive me for this slow meander down memory lane and the days of Bob Isherwood raving about ads from far-flung corners of the globe, but you can always flick to another piece if you’ve seen them all!)… So to Brasil (I think it was Brasil, but may have been Argentina - feel free to correct me!)… and this gem “It’s a trap” or whatever the right title was…
Then, finally, I discovered these two ads - more recent and more examples of great work…
2. Human Touch
So, come on Jamie C. - you’re one of the best Account Directors I know (sorry, Group Account Director). You work at a great agency. But can you really tell me that a woman crashing a radio-controlled plane is good enough against this list? At least admit it’s a bit weak!
That ad you say is from Brazil is in spanish, so I guess it`s more probably to be from Argentina, but I`m not totally sure.
A really good post and much enjoyed. I’m not sure if I’d be so hasty to condemn ‘radio controlled’. It’s not my cup of tea but there’s a tension in it that even the ad doesn’t quite explain. She deliberately takes the plane out of action, but he seems to inadvertently kick the car door shut. If it’s a deliberate attempt to show her that her that two can play that game it’s certainly not clear to her; or us. Actually the ambiguity is what I like most of all, but it seems to be working off an insight that edges close to the emotional area of tension within a relationship which is a huge part for many couples from what I’ve observed. I’d be interested in talking to the planner and creative on this one to get to the bottom of the story. A good and well dramatised post nevertheless. Thanks.