Thursday, November 30, 2023

Toyota Gives a Little Love This Holiday Season

 First of Two Heartwarming Holiday Ads Debuted During NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”

 As the holiday season kicks off, Toyota is celebrating the joy in creating holiday memories with family through a message about spreading love this season. “Present from the Past,” the first of two Toyota holiday ads, debuted last night during NBC’s primetime special, “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” with a personalized throw from a show host.

“Present from the Past” tells the story of a young woman who receives a Christmas gift from her grandmother. Inside the package is a vintage camera and a collection of her grandmother’s photos from when she was the granddaughter’s age. Inspired by the camera and with the help of her all-new 2024 Tacoma, the granddaughter decides to recreate the old photos of her grandmother by going to all the same places. Over the course of the following year, she journeys far and wide across the country: to bustling cities, desert canyons, heartland pastures, tranquil forests, secluded coastlines, small town attractions, and beyond. In the final scene, she arrives at her grandmother’s home just in time for Christmas, surprising her with a photo album she’s created from her travels, alongside her grandmother’s photos from the past. Her grandmother becomes overwhelmed with emotion from her granddaughter’s thoughtful gift. “Present from the Past” was created by Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Lisa Gunning.

At the heart of Toyota’s Hispanic creative is the message that nothing says love like an airport pickup, especially during the holidays. Latinos will never back down from picking up their loved ones, even if it means sitting in endless traffic because the holidays aren’t complete until they’re together. The Hispanic spot titled, “Arrivals, shows relatable moments of families and friends attempting to find their loved ones amidst the rows of cars, defying weather and traffic. Ultimately, reuniting with their family fills their hearts with joy and comfort, knowing they are finally home for the holidays. The bilingual spot was created by Conill Advertising and directed by Max Malkin.  

“This year, Toyota’s special holiday message focuses on spreading joy and bringing loved ones together for the holiday season,” said Mike Tripp, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. “We hope that families and friends will embrace this message as they come together to enjoy what this season is truly about.”

This holiday season, Toyota is partnering with 100cameras to help impact youth nationwide. 100cameras is a nonprofit organization that empowers youth by partnering with local schools and organizations to provide programming focused on photography and storytelling to help foster self-expression, connection, and leadership.

With Toyota’s donation, Toyota joins the 100cameras Impact Circle, which will fund programming for 10,000 students within the next year. The Impact Circle collective serves as a combined hub of support, fueling 100cameras’ comprehensive programming platform that encompasses virtual learning and hands-on classroom experiences across the United States and worldwide.

Viewers are encouraged to support the 100cameras partnership this season by sharing their own recreations of family photos on social media using the hashtag #ToyotaFlashback.

Where to Watch

Following the spot premiere on NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special, the :60 version of “Present from the Past” will also air with high-profile airings on NBC’s “TODAY” on Thursday, November 30 and “Sunday Night Football” on NBC on Sunday, December 10 and December 23.

After the premiere week, “Present from the Past” will begin airing the :30 spot across broadcast and cable networks on December 10. The integrated campaign will appear nationally on broadcast, cinema, digital video and paid social. The spot will air during prime time, sports programming, and on cable networks such as Comedy Central and Weather Channel, NBA games on ESPN, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” halftimes throughout December, as well as holiday programming on Freeform.

Hispanic linear TV coverage of “Arrivals” includes a mix of broadcast networks and targeted cable, including Univision, Telemundo, Estrella, UNIVERSO, and Discovery en Español. High profile Hispanic media programming will amplify “Arrivals,” including Univision’s annual broadcast of their charity event TeletonUSA, UEFA Champions League Soccer, Telemundo’s “Hoy Día,” and UNIVERSO’s “Sunday Night Football” halftime sponsorship. A strategic branded integration on Telemundo’s “Hoy Dia” will further extend the message by showing families coming together for the holidays through viewer generated content and real-time content captured at airports, during the week of 12/18. Additionally, content will be shared on Telemundo and Toyota Latino social channels. The campaign will also appear in cinema, include a partnership with Pandora and social featuring Mariela on Meta and Pinterest.

The Toyotathon December Sales Event offers incentives through January 2, 2024. View the spots here. Images and credits are available here.

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Toyota Prius Receives Top Honors as the 2024 MotorTrend Car of the Year


Today, MotorTrend named the 2024 Toyota Prius as the 2024 Car of the Year during the Los Angeles International Auto Show. This marks the second time that the Prius has won the award – the first being in 2004. The Toyota Camry also received top honors in 2007.

Twenty-three years ago, this high-tech sedan rolled into U.S. Toyota dealerships and forever changed the automotive industry. The Prius became the world’s first production hybrid car and ushered in a new generation of vehicles that combined an electric motor with a high-efficiency engine to get you farther with gas. Now, over two decades later, this legendary nameplate is making waves – once again – as MotorTrend’s Car of the Year.

“Toyota has fundamentally redefined the essence of a Prius with its new model, which represents a crowning achievement in its evolution,” said MotorTrend Group head of editorial Ed Loh. “The Prius succeeded in capturing the hearts and minds of MotorTrend judges by offering an undeniably attractive and engaging car—all while upholding its hallmark traits of efficiency, safety, and affordability. In an automotive landscape grappling with a scarcity of affordable EV options and inadequate charging infrastructure in the U.S., Toyota made the Prius hybrid the right car for this moment and rightfully earned MotorTrend’s 2024 Car of the Year award in the process.”


With sporty exterior styling, a sleek silhouette, and up to an EPA-estimated 57 MPG combined, this new-generation Prius is made to move you. Available in LE, XLE, or Limited grades, it’s packed with options and technology like the Toyota Audio Multimedia Audio system and comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0. Powered by the fifth generation Toyota Hybrid System and a 2.0L engine, the has an output of 194 horsepower on the FWD drive model. And for models equipped with the available Electronic On-Demand AWD system, the output climbs to 196 HP.

“We are thrilled Prius is returning to this prestigious podium once again after 20 years,” said David Christ, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager. “Prius has evolved from being the first to becoming legendary. At Toyota, we strive to offer mobility products that fit our customers’ lifestyles and the Prius does this by offering a sleek and sexy style, a dynamic driving experience and innovative technology. We are grateful for this recognition.”

The Prius competed against top contenders in MotorTrend’s annual evaluation of the most competent, desirable, and capable vehicles to debut for the 2024 model year. As part of the evaluation, MotorTrend editors put the Car of the Year contenders to the test both on the street and on the test track to determine a verdict.

The 2024 Toyota Prius is currently available at Toyota U.S. Dealers.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Washington's Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish: Green Bean Casserole


Thanksgiving is a time for friends, family, and, of course, food! And one dish Washingtonians look forward to most? Green bean casserole!

USA Today recently reported on the most looked up recipes for Thanksgiving side-dishes and green bean casserole takes the top spot in Washington State. These results seem slightly ironic since the traditional green bean casserole only requires 4 common pantry items thrown together and baked for a while, but no one can argue that it is definitely a comfort food.

Is green bean casserole on the table at your Thanksgiving dinner?

Take your casserole up a notch by making it from SCRATCH...no canned cream of mushroom soup or green beans. Not only will it be healthier, this Creamy Green Bean Casserole recipe will appease the most refined tastes...and even includes homemade "fried" onions.

Sunday, November 12, 2023

In Celebration of Veterans Day: Meet Dave Lyons — a Toyota Senior Engineer and former U.S. Army Veteran


Senior Engineer Dave Lyons has worked for Toyota since he left the U.S. Army 25 years ago and is the current chair of the business partnering group, Toyota Veterans Association (TVA). 


Watch the video below to hear Lyon talk about his role with Toyota’s parts supply chain planning team, what he got out of the military and why the workforce should hire more veterans.