toyota:
ideas for good
turning prius tech into tech for all
2010 was a difficult year for Toyota. A year after they had taken one of the top spots for sales in America, a series of accidents in their vehicles forced their biggest recall in history, and sparked a media firestorm that heavily damaged their reputation as the most reliable car.
What we did
First we helped them regain the trust of their core customers and the media with a TV campaign that highlighted Toyota’s tech as innovations to address real human challenges. The broadcast campaign was strengthened by social media conversations that invited people into real honest dialog, a first for Toyota USA.
The challenge
Then we took it further by handing over their most revolutionary technology to Deeplocal, a Pittsburgh-based creative technology company, inviting them to re-imagine ways it could be used for the greater good of mankind. Together we powered a rollercoaster with the Prius’ regenerative braking system and a cooling ventilation for disaster relief tents
with the car’s solar power ventilation system.
program design
We created a challenge that invited the public to share their ideas to repurpose Toyota tech for good. Ideas were submitted online and the challenge culminated in a prototype weekend where winners worked with engineers from Deeplocal at Carnegie Mellon University’s engineering lab to bring their ideas to life as working prototypes.
the invitation
the recap
client
Toyota USA
agency
Saatchi & Saatchi LA
ECD: Mike McKay
Creative Director: Jason Nichols
Art Director: Mike Czako
Copywriter: Bob Fremgen
Production Partners: Deeplocal, Royale