7/21/11
Ok, I’ll admit it, the new Toyota Venza campaign from Saatchi and Saatchi L.A. cracks me up. I especially like the execution with the clueless Gen Y worrying about the fact that her parents only have 19 friends on Facebook, as she sits all alone with her computer, while they are actually out having a good time.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ToyotaUSA/?x=venza
It captures my feelings about the superficiality of Facebook – for those who don’t already know, I refuse to go on it – perfectly. A different commercial includes a Gen Y who has moved back in with his parents – another current trend.
Interestingly, Russ Koble, advertising and planning manager for trucks and SUVs at Toyota, shared the fact that when Venza launched in 2008, they actually had two targets, Gen Y and their parents, so they positioned the brand to the younger target and hoped that they would get older buyers too. Ugh! (Greenberg, 2011)
I don’t remember those ads at all. But, by firmly deciding to target Boomers they have been able to create a campaign that clearly speaks to the target. Kudos to them and the Gen Y folks at the agency for having the guts to do it. And, I’m sure Boomers will react positively, but not so sure Gen Y will respond too, as they hope. What do you Gen Y’s out there think? Funny or insulting?
Greenberg, K. (2011, July 7) Toyota’s Venza Walks Line Between Boomers, Gen Y. mediapost.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=153689&nid=128636
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Just saw this commercial. On the one hand, I agree, they're funny because they make fun of people "really living" on the internet. However, there's a large group of Gen Y's who are busy working 50 hour weeks and raising children who can't afford brand new Venza's while they watch they're upper middle class baby boomer parents live the high life while complaining about cuts in Social Security benefits. They were young and worked when times were prosperous and Gen Y is desparately treading water. Some are moving back in with their parents because they are out of options. So, maybe the ads are clever because they speak to the issues we're all facing right now. However, I think they'll have more success at selling the cars to Baby Boomers rather than Gen-Y. Us younger folk are going to have to receive meaningful raises at work before we can think about buying new cars.
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