From the Autoextremist rants to Toyota, with love . . .

[SobeSVT]

Toyota. Not only will the grass be greener, you'll see more of the world, you'll live longer, your days will never end, you'll see forever, and you're going to die if you don't start driving a Toyota with Hybrid Synergy Drive. What? You didn't get the memo? That's the unmistakable and not-so-subliminal message in the new corporate ad campaign from Toyota, hyping its Hybrid Synergy Drive. When we wrote about the upcoming onslaught in the media for its hybrids a couple of weeks ago, we had no idea how far the "Master Manipulators" from Toyota would go to cajole the American consumer into believing its hybrid hype. Using a stupefying concoction of hype, guilt, threats and veiled promises of eternal life, this corporate ad from Toyota goes down in advertising history as the most disingenuous and misleading ad ever unleashed on the American public. The words alone are ridiculous - "What if the air were clean again? Would the grass be greener? Would you travel further? Would you live longer? Would the day never end? Would you see forever? If the air were clean again. What if all cars released 80% fewer smog-forming emissions. Hybrid Synergy Drive, from Toyota. The power to move forward." - but combined with its misty-green visuals of bucolic scenery and the use of contemplative, demographically orchestrated actors, the ad is so over the top that it's just outrageous. Openly playing the American consumer public for gullible dupes who can be convinced of anything, Toyota has gone beyond all boundaries of decency with this corporate ad. After all, we're not talking about a bicycle or a skateboard company here, folks. This isn't a company that specializes in recyclable balsa wood transportation appliances powered by hugs and a smile. We're talking about an industrial behemoth that happens to build a wide range of full-size SUVs for this market that get the same piss-poor mileage that everyone else's full-size SUVs get. We're talking about a car company that is feverishly at work on a brand-new plant just south of San Antonio, Texas, that will build the largest pickup trucks in Toyota history. Yet, they have the temerity to project this Greener-than-Thou image that is a gross misrepresentation at the very least and a blatant fabrication at its worst. At the beginning of the year, we praised Toyota's "Beautiful Day" television execution as being one of the best corporate ads ever done by an automobile company. This new ad campaign for its hybrids is the direct opposite - it's not only irresponsible, it's flat-out unforgivable. We warned Detroit in this column a couple of weeks ago that Toyota would use this marketing onslaught for its hybrids to go for the jugular. And if anyone misread Toyota's true intentions up until this moment, the quaint notion of Toyota as the Jolly Green car company filled with Shiny Happy People out to save the world should surely be dispelled by now. By allowing this campaign to hit the airwaves, Toyota has made it clear that they will stop at absolutely nothing to gain any advantage in this market, even if it means equating its "Hybrid Synergy Drive" with the Fountain of Youth. It would be laughable, if consumers and the media were smart enough not to get sucked in. But too many are not, apparently, so it's just simply disgusting.

Toyota. Toyota has finally gone over the line. The Hybrid Synergy Drive campaign is deceptive and sleazy advertising. It is Toyota suckering the very people who really want alternative fuel cars and more environmentally responsible cars into buying Toyota vehicles. This pitch intentionally plays on the widespread ignorance that exists about hybrid technology to exaggerate the environmental benefits (hybrids = electricity = "clean"). Focusing on the air is a misdirection from the environmental problems created by disposing of all of the extra battery materials. Someone needs to do a full environmental accounting of this synergy drive crap and see how much pollution is just redistributed to some other area and stage in the life cycle of the product. Which is worse: a car company that isn't doing a lot about improving fuel economy & environmental benefits in its current cars...and isn't claiming to do so? Or a car company that isn't doing a lot about improving fuel economy & environmental benefits in its current cars...and is claiming to do so (and knowing the consumer ignorance will let them get away with this)? I think it is time for someone to say that Toyota is doing very dishonest and corrupt marketing and that THEY KNOW IT. Surely their own consumer research must be telling them the same thing. They can no longer claim that they aren't aware of consumer misperceptions about hybrid technology, and they cannot honestly claim that they are not now intentionally exploiting this ignorance. Allen Bukoff, PhD, Director, Autoextremist Research

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[Mcmflow]

funny......

[SUPERBADD75]

STUPID. just like all the people that complained about the Chevy commercial where the kid dreamt of racing a 'Vette through the streets. it's just a commercial. just like all commercials, it is intended to persuade people to buy a product and if they think that using "a greener world" imagery will do that then so be it. it's not like they're too far from the truth. nobody else offers as many hybrid vehicles as Toyota, and a hybrid is a heck of a lot cleaner than a regular gasoline engine, especially in the city where you are propelled by battery power at low speeds. i don't know why people have to pick everything to death in today's politically correct society. it's a freaking commercial, turn it off if you don't like it.

[Butz]

**************** Toyota..

[Nocturn_Bird]

The people complained about the vette because it suggested kids should steal their parents cars...the Toyota ad is blatent propaganda.

[Infiniti Z350]

Having seen it several times, I can say the Toyota ad is bit extreme. The hybrids do have lower emissions than conventional gasoline engines but Toyota does make it sound like the cars can single-handedly save the planet. Yes, with cleaner air people may in fact live longer but buying a few hybrids isn't going to balance out the effects of several billion other cars (and other machinery) in the world. I'm pretty sure hybrids won't make the "grass greener" either. That takes meticulous lawn care.

That said, all advertising has some degree of exaggeration to it. It's nothing new and I certainly wouldn't call it "corrupt".

[mikehamm45]

Thats not the problem. The problem is that they are making claims that are impossible to be true. They are suggesting for example that if you buy a Toyota you will live longer because Toyota vehicles clean air.

They do not clean anything. And will certainly not have you living longer.

It really is shamefull propaganda for what it really is.

[cc3399]

One thing though is that ad agencies tend to do a good job for foreign companies but crank out crappy ads for the Big 3. That ad as manipulative and false as it is (which is what marketing is all about), is well done and exudes an air of confidence.

[saturnsteve]

Honda is doing the same thing. Have you seen the new Civic hybrid commercial? Butterflies and **************** flying around, this makes me sick!

[cc3399]

At least those ads are timely. Now that the media has declared the end of this cycle of the SUV-era which will be followed by consumers actually not buying SUVs anymore it makes sense for car companies to emphasize that sort of stuff. Meanwhile GM will soon have to launch an ad campaign to market what...their new large SUVs?!

[SUPERBADD75]

Originally Posted by Nocturn_Bird

The people complained about the vette because it suggested kids should steal their parents cars...the Toyota ad is blatent propaganda.

the Toyota ad isn't propaganda, it's making suggestions, not bold claims. it simply says "what if", and don't most commercials do that? "what if you drink this beer? maybe chicks might actually dig you then.", not " this beer DEFINITELY makes women fall all over you". same thing. "what if the air were clean", whatever, it's not saying that you buying their hybrid is going to make earth a more inhabitable place. i think all of you are freaking out because it's Toyota. once again, if this were GM it would be completely different, and don't try to say you'd all have the same opinion. it would be art if this were a Cobalt hybrid or something like that.

by the way, the Corvette commercial didn't seem to suggest that anyone steal mommy's car, it was simply a dream that any American boy might have. once again the public overreacted and it was stupid.

[XCR440SP]

Actually I think this is going to backfire on Toyota. Short term it my work well with the current fuel prices, however, I think Ford is going to put a large dent in Toyota's Green image since that seems to be their current push. With more Hybrid's coming, the Fusion brochure talking alot about emmissions and its availability as a PZEV, Focus PZEV and I saw an article that said the new 06 Explorer V6 has lower tailpipe emmisions than an Accord Hybrid. So by Toyota putting some much emphisis on polution while increasing their market share of Eco-Unfriendly vehicles, leaves the door wide open for someone else to beat them in this market and lauch a major attack that could lead the average unknowing consumer to start questioning Toyotas leadership. If consumers start questioning Toyota, I'm betting that a large loss of market share would follow since they really can't back up all the things they're given credit for.

This doesn't mean that I think Ford will take all this share by building emissions friendly vehicles, because most consumers are like myself and could care less about emissions (I prefer the Dodge Charger Hybrid adds to any Toyota add) However, if Toyota's proven wrong on this, it could lead to questioning other things that Toyota has been exageration like mileage and performance, causing many loyal buyers to cross shop other brands that in many categorys are far superior to Toyota.

[Ultra Magnus]

So then why dont car companies come out and say the hybrid idea is just a PR exercise.

[rimtrim]

To be fair, I haven't seen the ad. But I think DeLorenzo has finally lost it. Obviously the Prius doesn't singlehandedly turn grass green and drive amidst a cloud of butterflies. It's just imagery to make the point that Toyota has designed a mass-production vehicle with the sole purpose of efficiency and low pollution...something that, might I add, GM has yet to do. Anybody who takes these ads 100% seriously must have the IQ of a railroad tie.

And as for Toyota making big trucks, too...the Sequioa line could shut down tomorrow and it would barely make a dent in Toyota's sales. Even the Tundra could die and they would not be in really bad shape. If the GMT900s went away, GM would file for Chapter 11 the next day. That, folks, is the difference.

GM has got itself in a weird position...it CAN'T advertise fuel economy too heavily -- even though it makes some of the most efficient passenger-car V6s in the business -- because that would undermine its ongoing assertions that gas prices and environmentalism are not really that big of a deal and aren't really affecting sales that much. That is absolute BS, more blatantly so than anything Toyota has ever said. We have George W. Bush -- George W. Bush! The oil man himself! -- going on TV like Jimmy Carter, telling us to turn down our thermostats, and GM says the energy crunch isn't a serious problem? Come on.

Before I'm accused of being a Toyota troll, I've owned a Pontiac for five years and I would consider another GM vehicle. But to slam Toyota this hard for a whimsical ad -- and act like people will actually BELIEVE every word of it because they saw it on TV -- is ridiculous.

-Andrew L

[hunchman]

.........this is not surprising after all look how many americans they convinced to be loyal toyota owners and the number is growing at an alarming rate........this is just icing on the cake...........an ad like that will lure in the fence sitters