Crappy local car dealership ad promotes marriage equality

The normalization of same-sex marriage in brand ads has been well documented over the past few years, with significant statements by Microsoft, Target, Kindle, Mariott, and Honey Maid — among many others.

But at this point, does revealing that a character in a mainstream ad is married to someone of the same gender have any "Shock Value" left?



I'm happy that equal marriage is the new shibboleth for brand hipness. I just wish the creatives would move past using same-sex marriage as the whole point of their ads, and just have it be no big deal. (Some decent scripting would be a bonus.)

Considering the reactionary work of groups like One Million Moms, however, I guess I may have to wait a few years for that.

By the way, SF Bay CBS, my source for this post, points out that Canada was doing "surprise lesbian couple" ads back in 2008:

2013 Toyota Corolla drives cat to suicide

And it's not really recommended for cat lovers:



The ad is by Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, for Toyota. Man, they do some wild work down there.

The product benefits are straightforward, while the concept is rather unexpected. It could work. But are you bothered by the cartoon violence? Is it responsible advertising?

I'll leave that up to you. But you have to admit, funny cats are a surefire hit on the internet.

Via I Believe in  Advertising

Toyota embraces transgender sexuality

This is a Japanese Toyota ad for the 2013 Auris (Corolla) starring 19-year-old Ukrainian-born model Stav Strashko.



Whoa. I doubt we'll see it in the United States anytime soon.

Via BuzzFeed

F'd Ad Fridays: When the idea overpowers the brand

It's actually a really cool piece of weird video:



And even the messaging strategy, posted on YouTube, is single-minded:

Not long ago, there was one model of Prius for everyone to share. But now that one Prius has become a family: There's one for everyone. There's the original one, the bigger one, the smaller one and the one that plugs in. They're all a little different, just like us. The Prius Family is growing: Which family member is your favorite? Visit http://www.toyota.com/priusfamily to meet the Prius Family from Toyota.

But when I went back to Ads of The World, to get the video for posting, I had to stop and ponder to recall what brand it was for. I remembered "the one that plugs in". Leaf? Volt? ...Prius! And then I searched "Toyota".

That's always the problem, isn't it? Me, I have an interest in connecting brands with their campaigns. The average consumer does not. And this commercial, like many other high-budget creative orgasms, is memorable for its concept, not its product. Even the messaging strategy of "there are many Priuses (sp?) because there are many types of people" fails to communicate anything of real value about the car itself to a motivated car buyer.

Saatchi & Saatchi LA, though, will get well-deserved props and PR for the creative and production quality. So at least someone wins.

F'd Ad Fridays: Umbilicalievable

This South African spot for the Toyota Aygo uses a rather maternal metaphor for independence.



Squeamishness-inducing graphics aside, I think the commercial's biggest failure is when it has to resort to a teacher with a visual labelled "umbilical cord" to make sure we don't think this is a commercial about making sausages.

Or evisceration.

Blech...

Via Adrants.