Featured Toyota Releases Official Campaign Teaser 'Heck on Wheels' Leading Up to Super Bowl 50

Unfortunately.....that may be true, but only because that bar isn't very high.....

 

crap

 

Hmm, nice to see it in motion vs pictures. It doesn't look half bad from front angles, but I'm still not liking the side/back profiles. I guess I'll have to see one in person.

Hmm, I think local dealers have them in stock now. Might have to pay them a visit, though I'll probably borrow my brother's Prius just so I can compare driving a Gen 3 vs a Gen 4 is like...

 

Ooooh...

I'm very tempted to like it. It is creative.
BUT...

I can't really like it.

Because what I don't like about it, is what it is parodying in the first place.

I think you commit. Either the Prius IS "Hell" on wheels....or it is not. Heck...doesn't cut it.

I don't like the ultimate presentation of The Prius owner here. This is a "Walter Mitty" chai drinker. This is again UNFORTUNATELY...what a lot of negative Prius people "think" Prius owners are really like.

He carefully seals his sandwich in tupperware, kisses his cat goodbye.

The drive by the gas station has him splashing entirely clean water on the truck. Why not REAL MUD?

This parody, of the Prius Owner, turns what Toyota is trying to say about new Prius into a joke. Which is OK BUT.....
I think you have to commit with this concept.

The Prius cannot be "Heck On Wheels"...this can't be Walter Mitty fantasizing about what his life should be like.

Splash REAL mud. Have him get a REAL ticket.

Don't have the owner be a typical presentation and IMO negative representation of a Prius Owner,

I can enjoy this commercial, The Ducks kind of save it.

But my fear is the "Negative" Prius crowd, is simply going to watch this commercial and go...

"Yep...Chai Drinking, Cat Kissing, Loser Prius Owner, Pretending his Car is Cool"..

And as funny and well executed as The Commercial is, I have to ultimately vote NO on it's aim, even if the target is admirable.

 

it's satire. the owner represents non prius owners perception.

 

Sure.
Thar's what I said-
"This is again UNFORTUNATELY...what a lot of negative Prius people "think" Prius owners are really like. "

But do we really NEED Toyota continuing that image in their OWN commercials?

 

i have no idea. most people didn't like the first ads they came out with either. the guy in the suit and the lady in the dress. not sure what image will make non prius owners happy.

 

I like the ones with Keegan-Michael Key. Not so much a fan of James Marsden.

 

I know.
It's tough.
I criticized the first commercials, because I thought they were pretentious, and took themselves too seriously.

I just don't like the way this commercial doesn't commit.

I think it would be better, if once he get's into the Prius, his transformation to "Cool" was presented as being more tangible and less satirical parody.

I think it would still be humorous, and you could use many of the same elements, but present it more as The Prius IS Hell on wheels...not a dreamers "Heck on Wheels". You could do the same song, and even "bleep" the word hell. I think that would be funnier.

It's not bad....it's just not perfect...and I have to admit, I just don't like the ultimate presentation of The Prius Owner.

We're not all Meek 9-5'ers, living alone, kissing our cats, carefully packing our lunches and dreaming of bold acts of rebellion.

Or maybe we are and we just don't want people to know it?

 

just most of us. dog owners and cali modders excepted.

 

l like it and thought it was funny! I honestly don't think there is anyway for Toyota to overcome the average person's Prius perception no matter what their commercials are, so they might as well embrace it and make it funny and satirical for the Prius owners that realize we aren't all like that, or are we?

 

Concur....BUT

It's not on Toyota, or their commercials it's on Prius owners!
I've been saying for years that we're to Priussy (thin-skinned, smug, humorless, etc....) and it seems that Toyota is responding to the styling aspects of this car.
No....I don't like it personally, but at LEAST Toyota is trying to make a bold styling statement instead of penning the Prius as a boring, utilitarian, transportation appliance that sacrifices all worldly things at the altar of eco-friendliness.
You've even got the little-boy-racer writers at Car-n-Driver, and Motor Trend saying nice things about how the G4 HANDLES!!!

I get satire, really!
I just don't think that the folks at Toyota do.
It's like reading Chinese assembly instructions from about 5 years ago.

Yeah.....
You understand what they're trying to say, but there's an awkward transcultural gap thing going on that I'm just not sure I want to be highlighted on SuperBowl Sunday.
No.....not an Asian-American culture gap.

Sorry Toyota.
No...it's not your fault that people bag on Prius drivers but I just don't think that this commercial is going to help!!!!
Again.......I hope I'm wrong because Prius drivers really could use some good PR for a change, and I might just not be enough of a hipster to get it.......and I have a cat!.......and I take my lunch to work.......

 

Haha! I get what you're saying, but we've had our first Prius since 2010 and have been made fun of constantly for it, more so after we moved back home from Richmond, VA to Louisiana, so I am pretty thick-skinned about it and it is what it is. I love the 3rd generation Prius style(thought 2nd gen. was bland) and it is a great car, so much that we own 3 for our three teens! I can not stand the looks of the new Prius, especially the rear-end and Darth Vader dash, so I will not be purchasing this generation unless something miraculous happens! lol! I don't see this new "aggressive" style bringing new young drivers, but maybe I'm wrong! My husband test drove one yesterday and he liked how it drove and can stomach its looks, but I still say no! He also wants a Lexus 450h which I also don't care for its new looks. Anyway, I digress, but I think the average person hates Prius so much(I still don't understand why) that no matter what commercial it won't matter and maybe some will laugh nicely about the Prius during the Super Bowll!

 

vdub sold a lot of cars with Super Bowl commercials a few years back. the humor was good, but the kids liked them because they were stylish, fast and... green.

 

I think it's both hilarious and appropriate. Kudos to the ad agency who read correctly the Prius' place in the US market. This sells the Prius' existing strengths and new improvements without overselling it (by keeping it tongue-in-cheek) and subsequently setting the product up for ridicule, nor downplaying the product too much... all wrapped up in an amusing package that manages to keep your attention for the 90 seconds it needs to.

"Heck on Wheels!" Toyota Prius Super Bowl 50 Ad is Mediocrity Overpowered – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

I think the actual target audience (i.e. people who might actually *buy* a Prius) probably already made their peace with some of the more negative stereotypes/perceptions associated with the car and its drivers. And in consideration of a slow but (highly) utilitarian car, probably don't uphold their vehicles as personal totems. Those people are more likely to perceive the tongue-in-cheek nature of this commercial. They are probably secure enough in themselves as to not give a flying f*** 1) what (probable) cretins perceive them as, 2) understand themselves to not actually be hipster d-bags, or 3) are cool with being hipster d-bags... because... who gives a f? Chai is good.

Those who are offended probably have a bit too much ego invested in the car and care a bit too much about perception by questionable others. They will have a hard and angry time struggling constantly with what the cretins think/say.

Those whose negative stereotypes/perceptions of Prius' and their drivers are reinforced by this obviously facetious rendering are not the Prius' target audience anyways. "Here be cretins."

 

It sounds like parts of the song are loosely based on a song in Karate Kid and I noticed Kreese from the movie in the end segment. Kind of random.

 

I'm grabbing that last second or two of audio with the ducks to make a text tone on my phone. I thought it was funny. Kinda like kia's hamsters.

 

Better than buttface, worse than anime girls. All in all I give it a C-, and its probably time to fire your ad agency from doing anouther prius commercial in north america.

Come on people. I bet you could go to a highschool video class and do better.

 

I assume the idea of a Super Bowl add is intended to create buzz which eventually will turn into sales and possibly expand the vehicles market.

I grade it an "A" on the buzz metric and .......... a C- on the create sales and expand market

 

Kudos on putting a better suspension in there, I probably would not have had to go after market on tires. Kudos on figuring out how to get 40% efficiency in an engine without di, but why not more hp and more acceleration. The auto mags like the new handling, but they didn't upgrade the oomph with more hp from the engine or the battery. At least we don't think so, The front end and those tail lights, someone must have liked them, or akio might have just been so disillusioned from bad designs hitting his desk that he gave up. The interior? blah.

I don't think you help your case to sell it much by showing the front end and back, the side and 3/4 views are best on this car. Kissing the cat goodbye and the anal toyota coffee mug, really is that funny? I thought it was sad and they were mocking the guy that bought the thing. Its sexy to old lady dog lovers, who boy, that's who I want to impress.
+1

Prius satire has been on southpark and horible bosses, and in other movies. It works. Hey bring in biran the dog from family guy to talk about it, he seems to love his prius, and mcfarlan could do some satire. This was just, well a little sad.

Saatchi & Saatchi L.A. Keeps Things PG in Prius Teaser | AgencySpy

It's the la based office for satchi and satchi. They came up with butt face. I surely don't think its a great prize for them to use my tweet in a commercial.

hipsters ride fixies