Another Perplexing Toyota Ad

First off, I have nothing against Toyotas. They are great cars, and many of them are made right here in the US, and there's even a V-8 engine plant for them up in Huntsville. So, I like Toyotas.

Having said that, I am still at a loss to figure out what sort of ad agency they have hired recently. I mentioned a while back about the ad for the Camry (not Corolla, as I originally thought) that looks like a security camera video, and everyone in the store leaves when the intercom says there's a Camry in the fire lane. Other folks have made note of one of their ads for one of their multitude of SUVs that shows a woman putting on makeup while driving (another woman in a less-smooth-riding SUV does the same, and winds up with lipstick all over her face). The gist of both seems to be that Toyota drivers are inconsiderate or stupid or both.

Then the one that has most recently caught my eye. A frizzy-haired chick is making a video of her car, begging for it to be redone by one of those crappy "Pimp My Ride" shows on television. The car is a rusty, beat-up first generation Ford Falcon--I think a '61 or '62. Next shot is of it being rolled into a garage, then we see an unveiling, where the girl goes nuts over the transformation of her car. It's a brand new Corolla XRS. The chick is shrieking and pawing at the thing--it has a SPOILER, and a CEEDEE PLAYER, and EEEEEE! KEWWWWL! The guys in the shop give knowing winks and nudges about "their" work--obviously they have just swapped cars and given her a new Toyota rather than try to fix the Falcon. Hee. And again for emphasis, Hee.

But here's the thing that is perplexing--if taken literally, it could be read as saying that a new Corolla is not any more advanced under the skin than a 1961 Falcon. Or worse, that anyone who would drive a new Corolla is so incredibly stupid that they wouldn't recognize the difference in this one and the junk pile they brought in to begin with. If the woman is THAT stupid, why go to all the trouble of buying a NEW Corolla? Why not just get one that's a few years old, which would cost a whole lot less than a new one? She'd never know anyway, because she's an idiot.

Maybe Toyota is going after the Darwin Award runner-up market.

Who knows? It's just irritating.
posted by Terry at 11:20:00 AM