Of all the Olympic brand stories, this one by The&Partnership and Toyota is the most human. And it features a robot. The fun spot shows what happens when Toyota sends a Human Support Robot (HSR) to its four brand ambassadors and Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes – cyclist, Laura Kenny; sport climber, Shauna Coxey; sprinter, Jonnie Peacock; and swimmer, Alice Tai.
Rather than use the robot to help them train for Tokyo as intended, the athletes make it do daily chores.
The film is running in cinema, VOD, social media and channel sponsorship spots ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Dominic Gettins, creative director at The&Partnership, commented, “In the HSR we found the perfect embodiment of Mobility Partner to link to the athletes. It just needed a little human support of its own in the form of creative team, Andreas and Elson, director, Jon Barber, and the programmers at Kings College London (KCL), who all worked brilliantly together to develop our robot’s character – advanced, yet spirited.”
The HSR is one of Toyota’s robotics concepts now under development as part of the company’s global mission to provide freedom of mobility for all. The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) is developing advanced technologies that can provide practical help for elderly and disabled people and those recovering from illness or injury. The HSR has a highly manoeuvrable, compact, and lightweight cylindrical body and folding arm, so it can can pick up objects up off the floor and take items from shelves, capabilities which could prove useful help with everyday tasks, for people whose mobility is limited.
The HSR is not on general sale to the public, but Toyota has been offering its HSR open innovation platform to research partners worldwide.
Read Toyota’s story behind the campaign.
Credits:
Client: Toyota
Sponsorship Manager: Tom Whiteside
Agency: The&Partnership
Executive Creative Director: Andre Moreira
Creative Director: Dominic Gettins
Copywriter: Andreas Lefteris
Art Director: Elson Rodrigues
Planner: Alex Fennemore
Producer: Dale Chapman
Business Director: Rob Crilley
Account Director: Mike Vinall
Production Company: Mindseye
Director: Jon Barber
Executive Producer: Charlie Phillips
Producers: Hera King & Max Yeoman
Director Of Photography: Fabian Wagner
Editing: Julian Tranquille @ The Quarry
Post-Production & VFX: Coffee&TV
Grade: Simona Cristea
Producer: Gus Quirk
Audio: Grand Central Recording Studios
Sound Engineer: Gary Turnbull
Music Company: Finger Music
Media Agency: The&Partnership M/Six
