Automotive advertisers continue to innovate when it comes to broadband video, with new efforts from Toyota and Mazda especially noteworthy.
Toyota has taken the user-generated route, launching a website in November featuring testimonial videos to support its hybrid vehicles, which include the Prius. www.toyota.com/hybrids opens with a video from proud owner Craig, who explains his reason for buying a Prius before saying, “Now we want to know yours,” which directs users to a page where they can select reasons why they like their vehicle and create their own entries, which can be videos. Users have submitted videos showing their families, driving through the desert and engaging in active sports, which communicate environmental and other messages that support the vehicles. Saatchi & Saatchi/Los Angeles, the agency behind the campaign, worked with Vital Stream, which converts the videos to Flash and hosts the site.
Ian Wessman, director of creative technologies at Saatchi, said Toyota hasn’t been plagued by the problem Chevy had last March when it invited users to submit :30 ads for the Tahoe and received negative submissions. “The brand is so positive no one wants to disparage it,” he said. “We thought we’d have to reject submissions but we haven’t found the need to.”
Mazda is using videos of its top cars, from the earliest models to the present, at Mazdamuseum.com, a new site developed by Sarkissian Mason/New York in December. The Sarkissian Mason crew traveled to company headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan, to film cars at the corporate museum and to Mallorca, where three new concept cars were being introduced. The videos feature shots of the cars from all angles, sometimes in motion, with interviews of the designers. “It’s documentary style video, some of it shot in film, some in MiniDV,” said Sarkissian Mason creative director Daniel Ravine.
The goal of the site is to “bring out the sense of design history,” Ravine said. “Mazda has always promoted sports cars; this shows that Mazda has well designed cars.”
The site promotes new sales by documenting Mazda’s history of building beautiful cars. “It catalogs their achievements to strengthen the brand today,” Ravine said.
Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher To Receive Harold Lloyd Award From The Advanced Imaging Society
Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher will be presented with the 2025 Harold Lloyd Award in recognition of their producing achievement in creating Gladiator II at The Advanced Imaging Society’s (AIS) 15th annual Lumiere Awards luncheon, which takes place Friday, February 7, 2025, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Empowering their storytelling with groundbreaking technology and skill, Wick and Fisher have thrilled audiences and driven the film industry forward for three decades. Their steadfast dedication to the highest standards of cinematic excellence have resulted in epic films, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Great Gatsby, the Stuart Little franchise, the Divergent Series and both Gladiator films. The first Gladiator earned Wick an Academy Award® for Best Picture. In light of their consistent and distinguished contributions over the years, as exemplified by this year’s Gladiator II, the Advanced Imaging Society wished to recognize the team with this year’s esteemed Harold Lloyd Award.
“Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment have revolutionized modern filmmaking with their bold storytelling and ability to elevate large-scale productions to epic levels,” remarked Jim Chabin, AIS president. “Their work has not only captivated audiences but also redefined filmmaking standards, leaving an indelible mark on the art of cinema. At AIS. we deeply admire their visionary contributions and enduring influence on the film industry.”
Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of the late, great Harold Lloyd, remarked, “Doug’s artistic vision and Lucy’s dynamic leadership have brought authenticity, beauty and profound emotion to some of our favorite epic films. Together, they are a... Read More