Toyota asked Reddit a question and didn’t immediately get ripped to shreds
To promote the new RAV4, Toyota hired actor James Marsden to show off the SUV’s durability in a new commercial. In it, he rescues astronauts stranded at a Mars simulation facility by repairing their broken rover and bringing them water.
In addition to airing on television, Toyota purchased a promoted thread on Reddit asking users “If you had to live in a Mars simulation colony for a year, which three people would you want to live with and why?”
Surprisingly, Reddit users answered it earnestly. Rather than trolling the brand, Redditors, who have been notoriously advertising-averse in the past, responded with honest (and goofy) answers, racking up more than 300 comments.
“I would gladly make the sacrifice of spending a year trapped in an isolated experimental environment with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, to prevent them from becoming the next President. I have to admit, that would make the third person pretty difficult to recruit,” the top answer reads, before it took a tail spin with answers of who the third person would be (Ted Nugent and Kanye West, were among the top answers).
Another answer was Matt Damon, mostly because he’s known for roles in space thrillers such as The Martian and Interstellar. “Jason Bourne would plant a mean potato,” one mused.
There were practical answers, too. “If I’m looking to survive? A doctor, a botanist, and an architect from NASA. Health, food, and building integrity are important,” a person commented. Another added: “Elon Musk for his Engineering skills and insight. Howard Stern for his humor to make us laugh and Minka Kelly for obvious reasons…”
Toyota wasn’t completely immune from clowning, with one person simply answering “Toyota is garbage.”
More in Marketing
More brands are blending deterministic and probabilistic data for hybrid targeting approaches
Advertisers are exploring AI-assisted lookalike modeling for new audience targeting approaches — brought on by the fading third-party cookie.
The Home Depot adds another acronym — ‘ROMO’ — in next phase of negotiating retail media network measurement
The Home Depot is pitching a new acronym: ROMO, or return on marketing objectives, in addition to return on ad spend (ROAS) to help marketers paint a more holistic picture of their campaign efficacy.
‘It’s become a personality brand now’: Why Tesla’s brand perception is in a tricky spot as sales slump
Elon Musk has become a polarizing figure given his role in President Donald Trump’s administration and it looks like the ripple effects of that polarization are affecting the Tesla brand.