Why is Toyota spending money to advertise the 2010 Prius on television?

This is my first post. I am awaiting delivery of a Prius IV and have been reading with great interest how long people are waiting for their new car. While watching ESPN Sportscenter this morning, I witnessed a 30 second spot for the PRIUS. Why would Toyota spend money advertising a car for which they cannot keep up with demand? As a parallel observation, has anyone ever seen a TV ad for a MINI Cooper?

The Prius is a "halo" car for Toyota. If they interest people in a Prius and don't find one, they've still entered the Toyota dealership and may drive off with another Toyota.

This seems like rank stupidity, like "why don't they just sell people the cars that people want," but whatever, it works.

I think alot of people go in for Prius and come out with Camry or Corolla.

for the same reason Pepsi and Coke spend $$ on adverts

Personally, I think that there are LOADS of people out there who didn't or won't know that there's a new, sexier Prius until they see it in the adverts. Folks like us who spend countless hours discussing the car on the net are probably a smaller minority than we would like to admit!

The other replies are perfectly valid, too. There are plenty of reasons to advertise it.

Are you trying to imply something about my mental health here buddy! Leave my denial alone man!!
*twitch, twitch*
:suspicious:

PS. I wish I could find a little "disturbed" smiley. That would fit me so much better right now while I'm waiting PATIENTLY for my car.

The biggest reason is to get the word out about the NEW GENERATION of Prius now available. It's far too easy for that to go unnoticed, especially in a now mixed up automotive market like this.

Serious investment is being made in production capacity. Advertising is an effective means of increasing demand to support it. You build a large base of satisfied owners who will later spread the word about their positive real-world experiences. Those endorsements will be what sells Prius later, as supply increases.

The timing should work out nicely. We've already seen how well anticipation works, several times throughout Prius history.
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I think Volkswagon has the best commercial for the Prius when the VW asked his neighbor (who was washing a Prius) what his car sounds like when accelerating

At least twice now, when I've excitedly announced to someone that we just bought a new Prius, their reply was, "what's that?" ...and "who makes that?"

So not all of the driving public is aware of our favorite ride!

I think all the reasons given are probably valid. I also think that advertising campaigns and budgets are determined in advance. The 2010 is a new generation. I'm speculating that the spots and ads we are seeing were in the works months ago. Toyota probably planned and supported an agressive campaign, especially with Honda's release of the Insight, way in advance.

So The Prius is selling well. It doesn't really matter if the campaign was planned out long ago. Then all the other reasons remain valid. Get people interested in The Prius, good for Prius, get people on Toyota lots looking at cars, good for Toyota.

I asked a long time ago why Toyota was running the ad supporting the Solar Roof when they were having such a hard time meeting demand. From a sales standpoint it doesn't really matter. Get someone in, hooked and then either they wait, or they adapt, or you sell them a Camry.

It makes sense you don't stop advertising because your product is selling. The relationship between sales and advertising is like a shark, it has to constantly be moving to stay alive.

Since I live in Oregon, I was curious as to what you model level you have ordered and how long you are being told the wait will be.

I wanted to be patient, but since Cash for Clunkers, now I'm kind of feeling maybe I should of been more agressive.

I don't really want to take delivery of a new car in the middle of winter, too paranoid about Ice Storms, Hail and other possibilities. So if the wait is 6 months out or more, I'm really considering just waiting until next spring.....NEXT SPRING...what am I thinking!

Yea, you folks should get a life and when you find one, please share with me.

It's due in port TOMORROW. My eta is September 11th. It's a package III with Nav. I ordered it about a week ago. I was being told long long waiting list too but then when I started to call around, seemed most dealers had one or two they had coming in unspoken for so...

I'd say if you start looking now, you might find a dealer who has some on this ship coming in. I know Hermiston and Lassen in Albany both have cars on this shipment.

Thanks, you don't have too much of a wait. It's pratically here now! Lucky you.

If you ordered it only a week ago, I'd say that's actually pretty good, especially coming off of Cash for Clunkers. The Portland area dealers are pretty empty right now.

Well at least I know I have options.

I loved that commercial... "What does your car sound like? 'hhhhhhhhhhhhhh'".

And I agree with Brick too. I usually don't pay too much attention to commercials so it took me like the 20th time to see a 2010 prius commercial to realize it looked different. I'm glad I finally noticed it because I'm going to order it as soon as I land this new job.

Someone is on the ball at Toyota. There are two things a company never does during an economic down turn.

1. Never ever cut your marketing / advertising budget.
2. Never cut your R&D budget.

Why?
All down turns eventually end. When they do people want to buy things. Thus those who have had their name out there, are also the ones when that time comes are the first names the consumer remembers. Plus those that are buying during this down turn will see your ads and at least give you a look over your competitor who is not advertising.

When the down turn ends you also want to have new products ready for the emerging market. Thus the R&D pays off as people will want to spend their money newest and greatest products out there.

Go back and see who the big named automobile manufactures were in the late nineteen twenties. Then look at who survived and was building cars in 1948. Those who advertised and marketed their vehicles during the depression were the same people that survived the nineteen thirties.

Am I the only one that thinks the current ads are terrible?

No but they seem to appeal to the "greater" market since they've been rated among the best out there

Wot? You mean you don't like the comic-book tiny little Prius pulling the sun with all those creepy flower-and cloud-munchkins singing to you?

I don't like them either, but they are eye-catching. An ad doesn't have to be liked in order to be remembered. I'm sure some people who hadn't really heard about the Prius before would have noticed those ads. I wish they did a variety of approaches though instead of being all the same -- like Geico has at lest three different themes (although the Gekko is by far the most effective).