Toyota reportedly aims to break new ground in the US – and tug on some heartstrings – with a bilingual ad that will run during this year’s Super Bowl.
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According to The Associated Press, the 30-second ad shows a Hispanic father driving his young son in their new hybrid Toyota Camry. When the father explains how the hybrid car switches between petrol and electric power, the son compares it to the way his father can switch between English and Spanish.
“Because I’m always thinking of your future,” the father reportedly says, explaining why he learned English – and why he bought a hybrid.
AP noted it it will be the first ad aired for the 2007 Camry, which will be at dealerships in March. The hybrid version comes out in May. The Camry has been America’s best-selling car for eight of the last nine years.
Jim Farley, vice president of marketing for Toyota’s US division, told the news agency it’s the first time Toyota has made a bilingual ad. Throughout the ad, the father and son mix English with Spanish, but the words they use are familiar enough to English ears that there aren’t any subtitles.
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By GlobalDataFarley reportedly believes it’s one of the first times a bilingual ad will be featured during football’s Super Bowl, which is one of America’s most-watched sporting events. The ad is a nod to the Hispanic market, where the Toyota Corolla has been the best-selling car since May 2004, Farley told AP. The Camry is the third best seller among Hispanics, behind the Nissan Altima.
“Many people look at Toyota as a brand popular with highly educated Caucasians, and the stereotype is not true,” Farley told The Associated Press. “Most people don’t think about the Hispanic market being such a powerhouse in the industry.”
Toyota reportedly says about 4% of its Prius and Highlander hybrids are currently bought by Hispanics. But the company says that data can be imprecise because it’s based on buyers’ surnames. Around 4.2% of all vehicles were bought by Hispanics in 2005, according to JD Power and Associates.
Farley wouldn’t tell AP what Toyota is spending for the ad, but last year companies paid around US$2.4m to run a 30-second spot. Toyota ran an ad for its Prius hybrid last year, but before that, it hadn’t advertised during the Super Bowl since 1995.
The ads will reappear this spring on both English- and Spanish-language television channels, according to the report. Farley told AP the company also is working on spots that are geared to blacks and Asians.
