This week Danny & Russell rope Jason Holder into joining the podcast to talk about Solar Panels, the Volt and LEAF EPA labels, Tesla, and the hotly debated Prius Harmony ads winning awards.

Hosts: Danny Cooper, Russell Frost

Panelists: Jason Holder"man"

Episode #: 43

Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes

Just like you heard a couple of weeks ago right here on PriusChat, Nissan has revealed their first commercial for the Nissan LEAF. The 1 minute video features a polar bear who journeys from the icy Arctic through forests, highways, train tracks and over bridges to the big city and then on to the suburbs, where the animal finds someone who is trying to help – the owner of an all-electric Nissan LEAF.

It looks like Nissan is about to blast the public with over 200 Million media impressions by the end of 2010, with a good percentage of those impressions being devoted to the Nissan LEAF. The screenshot above was sent to me by Nissan and is a sneak peek into a TV spot called "Polar Bear" that will debut on September 9th.

The Prius has been a popular target of pop culture since its inception into the mainstream back in 2004. Probably the most (in)famous reference was in the South Park episode entitled "Smug Alert!". But the car has appeared as a character, prop, or backdrop in numerous other TV shows, movies, and music videos.

Info from Toyota's Prius Team, posted right here on PriusChat:

Toyota's "Harmony" Prius ad topped the Nielsen's Top 10 Most-Liked New Ads list in May, and the "MPG" commercial came in at #3.  We all have our opinions on these commercials, but no matter what those feelings are, Toyota seems to be receiving a positive response from them. 

Most Liked Ads

Here they are in case you want to watch them. If only Toyota would post all of them in HD...

This sounds.... interesting.

Gas Station TV and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced the launch of "Prius Neighborhood," a first-of-its-kind TV program on Gas Station TV. The community relations program broadcasts consumer-generated local events and cause listings on at-the-pump screens while informing viewers about the new 2010 third-generation Prius. "Prius Neighborhood" starts airing today.

You've probably seen at least 2 of the 3 Prius commercials on TV by now, but you may not have seen some of Toyota's other marketing efforts for the 2010 Prius.  Today PriusChat member (and maven of his own website) john1701a pointed out Prius advertising on Dictionary.com.

You can also find Prius references on various Dictionary.com pages:

Dictionary.com

Hybrid definition

Best. Prius. Commercial. Ever.

"Ya won't see me ever hit E with my MPGs..."

Video after the jump.