Truman Show? Product placement in real life
by Dan Roth on May 24th 2007 at 12:05PM 
Hybrids, especially the Prius, have become the automotive equivalent of a teacup chihuahua to Hollyweird stars. No doubt the public viewings and statements by thespians have raised public awareness of Toyota's green-tinged offerings. The campaign of bringing Toyota Hybrids to the stars has been a clever bit of stealth marketing by the Environmental Media Association. What better way to quickly make a hybrid a desireable item than to equip media figures with the vehicles, adding an air of "sexy" to vehicles that wouldn't be considered conventionally attractive. It's definitely been an effective way to boost the cachet of the hybrid, and we gather that celebrities love to be stroked and told how good they are. The cynical side of us says "follow the money." We're waiting for the big Tinseltown push for keeping old cars going, thus avoiding the raw material, energy, and toxic materials hit that a new car creates. We won't be holding our breath. [Source: CNN]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Aaron 12:28PM (5/24/2007)
Let the folks who live near the nickel processing facilities take a bullet for everyone else lmao..
The prius looks all sorts of sexy and takes the sting off those private jet jaunts..
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Rocket Punch 12:31PM (5/24/2007)
So what do you do with the batteries after they are dead? If you really want to save the environment, get car with a small engine, buy a diesel or take a bus.
People are being brainwashed by the media tricking them into thinking that the "hype"brid is the magic bullet to all environment issues........One radio ad around woodstock NY even lie on the and say the "hype"brid will do 60mpg under normal driving.
I live 10 mins from where I worked, I walk/bike to work during the the warmer seasons. I can own a space shuttle and still have a carbon foot print 1000x smaller that those "hype"brid celebs.
Until Al gore can proof his carbon foot print is smaller than an average American, he should stfu!
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Avinash machado 12:56PM (5/24/2007)
Perhaps the batteries could be recycled. At least that is what many claim though I am not sure myself.
gsolman6 10:54PM (5/24/2007)
So what do you do with the batteries after they are dead?
->Well like other batteries using the same technology they should be recycleable.
One radio ad around woodstock NY even lie on the and say the "hype"brid will do 60mpg under normal driving.
->The ad quotes the official gov't mileage estimate for the highway. By law manufacturers can only quote these estimate which is how GM gets to claim they have so many models with 30+ mpg while in the real world they will not return this.
Until Al gore can proof his carbon foot print is smaller than an average American, he should stfu!
-> There are carbon mitigation strategies like burying C02 underground than individuals can buy into, hopefully commensurate with what they produce. Whether or not Gore does this I don't know.
rrr 12:57PM (5/24/2007)
#1 and #2, you two are unbelivable. You spend time attacking hybrids but do not even meantion that if it was left ti Detriot everyone would be driving a huge pick up truck to "houl" on "daily basis" while getting "respectable" 12 MPG.
#1 you say that folks who live next to those factories are suffering...OK, but what about folks who live next to main highways and bridges. I live in NYC, we get all that polution from I-95, all that polution from NJ and and all that trafic that goes to New England. George Washington bridge is the busiest bridge in USA and I-95 goes thru the middle of Bronx.
Do we not suffer from all those SUV's and PickUps that get 10 MPG.......or should we suck up and take one for the team so Detroit doesn't go out of business.
Have you ever seen the rates of Astma in NYC?
But since all that smog and dirty air doesn't stop you from hating hybrids i guess me bringing up that saudi arabia is biggest oil producing state won't really bother you.
Hey got a question for you guys..Last year there was a war in Mid East, where does hezbolla get its money? From Iran....What does Iran do?
Where do SUNNI terrorists in Iraq get money? You know this is probably my Hollywood elitism speaking in me but i bet from a country that has a loooooong terrorist trail....saudi arabia.
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dave 1:22PM (5/24/2007)
RRR, you're my hero for today. F**k Detroit. They have no concept of ecological soundness, only marketing catch-up.
flicmod 1:38PM (5/24/2007)
rrr,
Does your name stand for Rob Reiner?!? :-) You sure talk like him.
I don't care where you work or live or hang out. Learn something about hybrids before you make unfounded statements.
So you're complaining about people that live next to highways? I fail to see your point here. Besides noise and an ugly view out their window (which both can be remedied by decorative noise walls) what does living next to a highway have anything to do with it? Sure, your hybrid may get 50MPG on the interstate, but it's still polluting the atmosphere. The synergy drive isn't working when you're doing 65MPH. It only works in city-like settings when you are stop-n-go driving or are at very low speeds. I guess you're one of the idiots that drive their hybrids on the highway and expect to see 60+MPG while being greener than Al Gore's butthole. I see a lot of you guys every day.
What does Detroit selling trucks have to do with anything either? Detroit sells trucks and SUVs because we American's tell them that we want them. If we didn't want them, Detroit wouldn't be making them. Stop with the blame game of pointing the finger at the automakers. The companies making those NiMH batteries for your hybrid are spewing out noxious gasses just as much (if not worse) than trucks and SUVs do.
Again, do some research and investigating before you make ignorant statements.
You can go back to your Hollyweird duties now, Mr. Reiner.
Dan Roth 1:25PM (5/24/2007)
There's no denying that Hybrid technology works - the Highlander Hybrid I'm driving now is fine - dispassionate as a car, and I'm not fond of the SUV form factor (it'd be a great Camry Hybrid wagon, though) - but really, the stars in Hollywood consider themselves "leaders" - which is such puffery it's not even funny.
And yes, Hollyweird.
I work in Film and Video, and the whole cult of personality that our culture has surrounded celebrities with is disgusting beyond belief.
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iamhoff 1:33PM (5/24/2007)
rrr,
The problem with the argument that the Big 3 would have everyone driving around in 12 mpg trucks is that 12 mpg trucks (or SUVs) are what people are buying! In fact, so many people have been buying those types of vehicles that the ultimate green company, Toyota, just brought out its 381 hp Tundra which at least gets 14 mpg! Several years ago they brought out the Sequoia 7 passenger SUV, because there was a demand for it!!! Likewise Nissan with the Armada and Titan. Cars like the Yaris, Fit, Versa, and even the Prius still only make up a very small percentage of the overall market. Hybrid versions of the Camry and Civic are both small portions of overall sales for the respective model lines.
Yes, we as a nation should definitely drive vehicles that get better mileage, and we should only drive vehicles that we really need. But we don't. America has always been a "bigger is better", "rewire it for more power" society. And if you go not too far back in history (hell, even current times), celebrities have always had rare, expensive, powerful cars, environment be damned. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. Athletes rolling in heavily modified Escalades, Paris Hilton in a 600+ hp Mercedes SLR McLaren. By tapping into the idea that most celebrities tend towards the environmentalist side of things (despite their obvious consumerism), hybrids are the perfect marketing tool. Especially with the Iraq war going on. Environmental statement, political statement, and you can bet your ass that the manufacturers and related special interest groups are making special efforts to accommodate the celebrities. Look at AM General/Hummer with The Governator. Back then, civilians weren't allowed to purchase Hummers. After Ahnold, now everybody can buy a 12 mpg H2. Several years ago, when Toyota first brought out the Rav4-EV, they were only leasing it to fleets. Ed Begley (sp?) Jr. convinced Toyota to actually let him buy one. Hybrids are being supplied to the various awards shows to use as celebrity transport. It happens, and while the celebrities may have perfectly good intentions, they're certainly pragmatic enough to take advantage of a special circumstance afforded them by their status.
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... 9:22PM (5/24/2007)
Learn something about hybrids? You're one to talk.
The Prius's hybrid powertrain supports it on the highway, where Prius nerds trying to get the best milage usually do their best, except when running solely on the battery, of course. If this wasn't true, then how could people easily achive 45 mpg or greater on the highway(the same 1.5L used in the echo/yaris gets around 34)? It isn't up to the EPA estimates, but its still pretty damn good. I hope the EPA's new mileage estimating system is better than it is now.
Mike 1:42PM (5/24/2007)
Sorry for being rude, BUT:
Hey morons! The only way fuel efficient cars will become main stream is if the market allows them to (buying and operating hybrids becomes cheaper for consumers than buying and operating a conventional vehicle) or by legislation.
Stop trying to guilt people into buying them because you live under an I-way overpass and can't breathe.
(P.S. I am a fan of hybrids, it's just I can't stand your bitching)
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smokeydog001 1:48PM (5/24/2007)
Most of us do not live in urban areas thus few Americans are going to radically change their driving habits based on the fuzzy science of failed celebrities like "Little Lying Al."
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Jason 2:57PM (5/24/2007)
Gah! Toyota is not the "ultimate green company"!! I really wish people would stop being fooled into believing this... Honda probably has the "greenest" automotive product portfolio of any of the car mfgs. Toyota has more SUVs in their line-up than any single GM brand, and Toy's and SUVs and the Tundra get worse mileage than their domestic counterparts. Chevy also has more car models with an EPA rating of 30mpg or better than Toyota. The only Chevy brand car that doesn't have a model rated at 30mpg or better is the Corvette. Chevy has also had a hybrid pick-up truck on the market already, and will be offering a hybrid drivetrain in their fullsize SUVs starting this fall.
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... 9:41PM (5/24/2007)
"The only Chevy brand car that doesn't have a model rated at 30mpg or better is the Corvette."
Thats just a really dumb thing to say. Even if we are only counting cars and highway mpg and listening to EPA's moronic estimates, that statement is still wrong. The Impala LTZ and SS get 29 and 27 mpg highway respectively. CR gets 20mpg in mixed driving. Since you seem to be including Toyota's SUVs but not anyone else's, the suburban gets 14mpg in mixed driving. But like many have said, people buy these cars expecting poor mileage.
And to whoever says the tundra's gas mileage is worse than all of its competition, the ford f-150 XLT v8 also gets 14 mpg, with a lot less power. And yes, i know Ford is coming out with a new 150 soon.
JDub 11:13PM (5/24/2007)
The Impala LS and LT are rated at 21/31 city/hwy, so yes, the Corvette is still the only Chevy branded car that doesn't have a model rated for 30+mpg. And yes, I know the EPA ratings are crap for the most part, but that just means that Toy's numbers are no better than the ones posted by GM or anyone else.
The Toyota Sequoia is rated at 15/18, the Chevy Tahoe is rated at 16/22. The Suburban, which Toy doesn't have a direct competitor for, is rated at 15/21.
A 4x4 Tundra with the 5.7L V8 is rated at 14/18. The 2007 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L (4x4) is rated at 16/20. Even the big 6.0L is rated for 15/19. The 5.7L Dodge Ram and the 5.4L F150 are both rated at 14/18, same as the Tundra.
ssgtakeo 3:53PM (5/24/2007)
Smokey uhh you're wrong here, the majority of the country DOES live in Urban areas, in fact there's an estimate that I read somewhere that 80% of all the population in America lives within 200 miles of a coastline.
Therefore what urban America says DOES matter, and the only reason that Rural America has any say at all is because they get at least 2 electoral votes per state.
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Deezee 4:11PM (5/24/2007)
First of all this type of Marketing has been around for decades. Companies always try to get stars to sport their gear. Apple, Ralph Lawren, etc.
And second of all "Keeping old cars" is a terrible idea. Its like keeping old appliances. The new ones are by rule more efficient and cleaner running. If everybody kept their 1968 Impala's the environment would be in more trouble than it is now.
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Rocket Punch 4:57PM (5/24/2007)
Just wanted to set the record straight, I am not a hybrid hater. What I don't like was how the hybrid was being hyped as the savior of mankind; where it is not really the car that is the problem, it is how an average American's mindset towards travel that need to be change. Simply put, don't travel 5 miles to the mall cause suddenly you need to get a $0.39 stamp. Coordinate your trips, plan your trips.
The modern America was literally designed and planned with "everyone owns a car and everyone drivers to everywhere" concept in mind (it is actually part of the architect's exam, just so you know I didn't make this up). This is why todays America had probably is one of the country with the worst public transportation infrastructures in place (even worst than some developing countries). This creates a scenario where the fluctuation on oil prices became very detrimental to an average person, since almost all of them had to drive 30-50miles to work everyday and that is the only way they can get there.
If gas prices reaches Europe/Asia level in America, people will literally die on the streets due to the lack of secondary means of commutating from point A to point B without driving.
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fatty 9:51PM (5/24/2007)
word. whats wrong with everybody buying hybrids? if people buy them because of better gas mileage then won't other companies follow suit and create competition because these gas prices ain't going anywhere and the companies that don't offer something other than a vehicle that cost $100 to fill up are going to be gone. and about the batteries, they're fully recyclable and Toyota even has a $200 bounty to make sure that they are recycled. so I'm not sure about you but i would rather have hybrids as the "in" thing than another Hummer outbreak. things can only get more fuel efficient when the competition is fuel economy, and thats a good thing.
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Bob 1:57AM (5/25/2007)
go prius, after the stars, now attack the studio :)
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