Saatchi & Saatchi NZ: Bye-bye car buying bothers. Hello Toyota Happy Project

Toyota Drive Happy Project. Gotta love a marketing initiative with a positive name, and this one contains both a pleasing promise and a new way to buy and own a new car.

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand has created the campaign that brings the “happy” promise to life, personifying the five key new car buying “bothers” Toyota is looking to eradicate.

The work began with Toyota-commissioned research, that identified the likes and dislikes about the current buying experience. The top five “bothers” according to the surveyed New Zealanders were – haggling over price, hard sell from salespeople, the time involved in customisation, the test drive experience and buyer’s remorse.

Saatchi & Saatchi turned each of these “bothers” into an animated character, created by Alt.VFX and director, Adam Stevens, turned their story into an ad.

https://youtu.be/BovAohNbUsM

Toby Talbot, chief creative officer of Saatchi & Saatchi said, “This project has been many years in the making for Toyota. The Drive Happy Project is a bold and exciting move. The challenging part, was how to bring those apprehensions people face every day to life. In The Bothers, I think we have struck a fine balance of relatable fears with a surreal and memorable manifestation of those fears. We’re hoping it will bring comfort to every trepidacious car buyer out there.”

The changes include a transparent drive away price, including all on road costs, consistent nationwide; seven-day money back options; flexible test drive options from a larger pool of demonstrator vehicles at every Toyota store; the ability to customise vehicles online; and, a no pressure, more hospitable sales environment.

Andrew Davis, Toyota New Zealand’s general manager of marketing explained, “We want to put the pleasure back into buying a new vehicle. With the Toyota Drive Happy Project we are focussing on a more customer-centric approach to the entire ownership experience.”

Customers should feel positive about buying the right vehicle, he added. No business wants to be known for its hard selling tactics, but sadly that is the reputation that comes with a traditional car dealership.

The campaign launched on Easter Monday evening and will run across TV, digital, social, print and in-store.