”Who’s Driving”
Toyota Motor Europe
Issue 32 | September 2014
Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi London
Creative Team
Executive Creative Directors Paul Silburn Kate Stanners Creative Team Brittany Poole Todd Grinham Planner Paulo Carvajal
Production Team
Producers Rebecca Williams Michael Hanney Media Agency Zenith Optimedia International Production Company Smuggler Director Jamie Rafn Post-Production Company Prodigious Audio Post-Production Company Grand Central
Other Credits
Account Handlers Theresa Risdon Mauro Messina
Date
June 2014
Background
The Toyota Aygo was a small city car, which had been sold in Europe since 2005.
At the Geneva Motor Show in 2014 Toyota revealed a completely redesigned and new-looking model aimed at younger drivers.
The 'Go Fun Yourself' idea ran across different channels including cinema, TV, social and print advertising.
Idea
As part of the campaign online, Toyota wanted to emphasise the Aygo's image as a playful car for people who didn't take themselves too seriously.
They set out to create a platform of fun, featuring pranksters, comedians and YouTube stars.
To launch this, they worked with YouTuber 'the Magic of Rihat', who had 3.5 million subscribers to his channel. For Toyota he recreated his 'Invisible Driver' prank, in which he wore a costume that matched perfectly the seat of the car.
In the video, the Aygo appeared to have no-one driving it. Using hidden cameras the film captured the reactions of employees at drive-through burger restaurants, car valets, car wash attendants and pedestrians when the car pulled up alongside them – with no driver.
More creative executions were planned for later in the year on Toyota's YouTube channel.
Results
The video has had over 3 million views on YouTube.
Our Thoughts
A recent survey by Variety magazine in the USA found that YouTube stars scored significantly higher than mainstream celebrities among millennials. They were judged to be more engaging, extraordinary and relatable than other music and TV stars.
So, that’s the first thing Saatchi & Saatchi have got right, going to Rihat. His YouTube channel has nearly 3.5m subscribers and his videos regularly get as many as 6m views.
This particular video is classic ‘candid camera’, real people put in surreal situations. Their reactions provide the entertainment.
I’d love to know what the numbers are on how many people shared a link to this. I imagine they would be quite high.