Comments on: Ad Nauseam: Toyota’s (Passive-Aggressive) Ransom Note to America

By: jooltman

jooltman — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:33:27 +0000

I noticed too that this beautiful main street is completely devoid of cars, and I like to think how many people must have had their cars towed the day of the shoot just so Toyota could create their pure impression. Tee hee.

By: cochon

cochon — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:15:13 +0000

i see toyota trying to appear like americans to sell some more cars to americans, who are easily led and brainwashed brainwashed by slogans like “buy american.”

i mean, sure, cars = bad. i know this, we all know this, but get real.

how on earth could you arrive at such a hostile and (passive) aggressive conclusion from such a boring and innocuous commercial?

By: Chris O'Leary

Chris O'Leary — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:07:17 +0000

I have to agree with dissent and doodee here. This is a fairly innocuous spot in comparison to the Audi spot posted earlier this week. If this site becomes a rebuke of every single car ad, I’m going to have to stop reading.

By: poncho

poncho — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:47:20 +0000

what about the new honda commercial where a dad gives his daughter his honda car and he gets a brand new honda. she’d probably not buy a car on her own so her father gives her his.

By: doodee

doodee — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:43:25 +0000

Must….listen…to…and…unconditionally…agree….with….everything….Streetsblog…tell….me.

I hear where you’re coming from, but I have to agree with “dissent” on this one. Chill out, its as harmful as a Pepsi ad. A ubiquitous brand reinforced by middle-of-the-road appeals. Its not “F You bikers”, ok?

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:22:55 +0000

Toyota is trying to deal with the issue of “buy American” when it comes to cars. I have a coworker said she would never buy a Toyota because it wasn’t made in America. I had to show her that Toyota makes cars in America and employs Americans. I don’t see any nefarious plot in this to undermine cycling, they are using the same images that American car manufacturers have used for years.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:49:34 +0000

The cutout cars let you see through them. That way you can admire the beautiful urban environment shown in the ad. How unfortunate that in real life, parked cars blight nearly all of the world’s finest urban neighborhoods — too bad we can’t see through them, can’t admire what they’re covering up. The whole thing makes me sad.

By: Jason A

Jason A — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:55:40 +0000

It’s kind of sickening for a car company to use a handsome Main Street as the back drop for a commercial. Thanks to the tireless lobbying and marketing efforts of car companies over the past half century, such commercial districts and development are now the exception in this country – and all too often illegal thanks to zoning restrictions and parking requirements.

By: David_K

David_K — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:26:12 +0000

What I see is some guy hosing down a sidewalk — a dumbass way to waste water.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:57:05 +0000

It’s exactly like Beyond Petroleum. There’s no substance there…

If Toyota starts producing and marketing something like a bike share program, then they can talk.

By: dissent

dissent — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:53:31 +0000

i find this post a little over the top, like a self-parody of anti-car sentiment. yeah, the ad promotes a car company on the basis that it’s continued existence sustains the many jobs that the company has “created”. it’s pretty unremarkable stuff, standard corporate PR. does that really amount to a “ransom note”? it’s a perversely attenuated logic that sees this as toyota holding a gun to u.s. workers’ heads, telling consumers “buy our cars or the working stiff gets it”. it’s fortunate for streetsblog that it represents the little guy in this david and goliath dynamic, because this kind of misstep and overreaction is the kind of thing that often proves embarrassing to incumbent powers.

By: JSD

JSD — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:43:19 +0000

This seems more than a little inspired by the similarly named “BP-Beyond Petroleum” ads from a few years back.

They changed their logo, greenwashed their gas stations, and installed a couple of planters. In the end, it’s only a front, and a pathetic one at that.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:32:55 +0000

Is it just me, or does that “cardboad cut-out” look like a David Byrne-inspired bike rack? I mean obviously he wouldn’t create anything of the sort, but it does look like one…