Team Spirit Tops Podium in New National Toyota Campaign

Toyota and Saatchi Join Hands in New Work to Support Spirit of Competition

What do skydivers, Toyota team members and world-class athletes Summer Sanders and Amy Purdy have in common? Teamwork.

Toyota is encouraging people to come together in the spirit of friendship and fair play through the simple act of holding hands in a new ad campaign, “Stand Together.” In addition to broadcast, the campaign will use outdoor advertising and social media elements to create an uplifting message around the teamwork theme.

Developed by Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, the campaign will launch with a :60 spot on NBC’s Olympic Opening Ceremonies broadcast Aug. 5. The ad features people across the world, from Toyota team members to skydivers to Team Toyota athletes Sanders and Purdy joining hands and celebrating teamwork. Set to the track of The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin',” the spot communicates Toyota’s commitment to mobility that facilitates shared experiences.

A special :90 online-only, extended cut version of the spot can be watched on Toyota’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lak6y1S9gM0&feature=youtu.be

“Teamwork is ingrained in Toyota’s DNA – it’s a founding principle,” said Jack Hollis, group vice president of marketing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “We believe, as our founder did, in the ‘power of togetherness’ and athletics is an amazing example of the power of teamwork. While we do not compete at the highest levels of sport on the playing field, we celebrate the spirit of collaboration every day, whether it is within the walls of Toyota, or in our interaction with our guests.”

The commercial also includes a call to action. For every person who creates a video of people joining hands and shares it using the campaign hashtag, #LetsJoinHands, Toyota will donate $20 to United Way, up to $250,000. In addition, Toyota will mix content from user and influencer submissions into pre-roll and social videos, continuously delivering fresh edits throughout the media run.

A prominent portion of the campaign will be the #LetsJoinHands outdoor touchboard installations that combine live video feeds with real-time collaborative drawing tools to create a connective engagement between New York City’s Herald Square and Los Angeles’ Hollywood and Highland from August 12-14. Users have the opportunity to email or tweet video captures of their drawing sessions directly from the screens. An advanced cloud-based rendering engine automatically generates highlight reels featuring users' digital drawings, suited to social sharing. The touchboards aim to capture the magic of the engagement while immortalizing these fleeting, yet genuine connections and collaborations.

“Toyota is a brand that is founded on the power of movement and over the decades has enabled people to move forward and explore. The “Stand Together” campaign is a reflection of the physical and emotional places we can go and the goals we can achieve together. By giving people a chance to engage with technology and people in unexpected ways, the campaign extends and redefines what it means to join hands and we hope to start a conversation around teamwork,” said Fabio Costa, executive creative director, Saatchi LA.