The legacy of the Toyota HiLux has held strong for over fifty years. The goal for the Unbreakable connection campaign created by creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi was to live up to that legacy.
The crux of the campaign is centred around an individual who has passed away still managing to cause chaos in his family home in order to drive his HiLux once more.
Head of creativity at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, Simon Bagnasco, told AdNews that the goal of the campaign was to celebrate the long reigning high status of the Toyota HiLux and accurately articulate the authentic connection between the vehicle and driver.
Bagnasco: “The HiLux is a vehicle which has become a true icon in Australia. For over sixty years they have become the trusted choice for millions of people across the country.
"The goal of our campaign was to celebrate the iconic status of Hilux and the authentic connection between driver and vehicle.”
The objective was to adhere to horror/ thriller tropes to not only engage the audience but leave a long lasting impression.
He said: “Creatively, we struck on the idea of showing someone who loved their HiLux so much, they came back from the afterlife for one last drive. Once we had this core thought, we used tropes found in the horror/thriller genre to create a memorable backdrop for our story.
“When making the film, it was important we struck a balance between the tension of a family being visited by a ghost and their collective realisation he’s just looking for the keys to his HiLux.
“We also spent a lot of time, working with director Benji Weinstein, to layer in subtle jokes along the way to add depth to the story.”
The head of creativity enjoys the humour behind a ghost that is a safe driver.
He said: “My personal favourite aspect of the campaign is that he might be a ghost, but he’s still a careful driver who wears a seat belt.”
Bagnasco closes his remarks with a sentiment about the legacy of the HiLux within Australia, a legacy he hopes was lived up too.
Bagnasco: “There has been a strong legacy of work for HiLux in Australia. We hope this work lives up to that legacy.”
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