Toyota ads push emotional connection, not products

Toyota vehicles make appearances, but they largely take a back seat to the messages being conveyed. Several spots star non-actors. The people riding in the Sienna minivan in the “New World” commercial are an actual family.

The campaign launched Oct. 3.

“Creating emotional connections with consumers through storytelling is our goal with advertising in general, and for this campaign, specifically, we saw an opportunity to lean into that even more, given the current consumer sentiment,” Lisa Materazzo, group vice president of Toyota division marketing at Toyota Motor North America, told Automotive News. “Consumers are looking to connect with brands on a deeper level, and that makes it the perfect time for this initiative.”

Burrell, a Black-owned agency in Chicago, crafted a spot called “Training Wheels” that follows a boy through his adolescence as he learns to ride a bike, swim and fly an airplane. He is encouraged by other trailblazers in his community to be fearless and try new things before getting an award as an adult at the end of the spot.

The ad includes appearances from the founders of Black People Will Swim, a group that seeks to break the stereotype that Black people don’t swim; the Fly Compton Aeronautical Education Foundation, which was created by African American pilots in 2020 to introduce minority youth to the aviation industry; and the Black History 101 Mobile Museum.

Toyota said Burrell devised a social media extension for the campaign called “Need a Nudge” to raise awareness of nonprofit organizations that are “leading the way to effective change.” People can nominate organizations by uploading a 60-second video to needanudge.com explaining what makes them special or why they need a nudge. Voting on the website will determine which of the nominated organizations will receive a one-time $10,000 grant.

Materazzo said vehicle-focused ads are important, especially at a time when Toyota has an array of new models to introduce, but she believes campaigns such as “Never Settle” can complement the product pitches by telling consumers what the company stands for.

“It’s been said that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” she said. “That’s further proof of having brand advertising to complement vehicle-specific advertising.”