Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Marketing/Advertising, Toyota
Toyota rethinks Prius ad, issues recall
Toyota just can't seem to catch a break lately. Increasing recalls and slipping Consumer Reports ratings and now this. In a seemingly innocent commercial touting the fuel efficiency of its much-loved Prius hybrid, the company took a playful jab at Fresno, California. Basically, they made Fresno look like a place in which you would only stop if you needed gas on the way to someplace better, which didn't sit too well with folks who call Fresno home. The ad made it to Digg and then all heck broke loose. Fresno didn't think it was so funny, and California Senator Dianne Feinstein even wrote Toyota to complain. Toyota decided to recall the spot (that was only airing in the East) and issue an apology. Click over to AB Green to see what all the fuss was about.
[Source: Autoblog Green]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pete 1:15PM (11/14/2007)
Fresno sucks, and so do those hippies over at AutoBlog Green.
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Willem B 1:48PM (11/14/2007)
x2
i hate whiners and hippies
hippies should be banned
Scorch 2:59PM (11/14/2007)
I agree, especially with the AutoBlogGreen comment. Every now and then I look around over there and all I see are ridiculous comments like "Do you really need that massive four-cylinder engine?" and the like.
MKIV 3:28PM (11/14/2007)
To autoblog.
It's not Toyota you idiots, it's an indipendant [SET] distribution gourp. At least get your facts straits.
This is the first I head of an ad being "recalled"...
MKIV 3:28PM (11/14/2007)
To autoblog.
It's not Toyota you idiots, it's an independent [SET] distribution group. At least get your facts straits.
This is the first I head of an ad being "recalled"...
nissanfreak87 1:20PM (11/14/2007)
I'm from Kentucky, so you can only imagine the flack I get from being born in a certain geographic location, and you don't see me complaining to those people, I think it's funny. People just need to chill out and stop taking everything so seriously, that's the problem with the world anymore, people are more concerned with getting back at someone than having a laugh at their own expense.
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Victor 1:22PM (11/14/2007)
Fresno pretty much sucks....there's an IRS office there...
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TungstonT 1:23PM (11/14/2007)
Everything rises and falls on leadership. Kinda makes you wonder who is leading and why all these things keep slipping by.
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Richard Warren 1:24PM (11/14/2007)
"Toyota just can't seem to catch a break lately"
They've been catching a break for years, from just about everbody.
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Temple 2:23PM (11/14/2007)
more like catching a break from Autoblog's Toyota bashing.
elprogramer 9:00PM (11/14/2007)
^They shouldn't make bland cars then.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:31PM (11/14/2007)
Freakin' Fresno whiners.
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Whiplash 1:38PM (11/14/2007)
I live in Fresno and honestly, I wouldn't live anywhere else. When I moved here 20 years ago, I wouldn't have said the same thing. This city has really become a great city over the last few decades. And I've lived in the Bay and was born in So-Cal so I have a frame of reference.
The problem with the ad in my mind though is that it's just a bad move for Toyota. Fresno has a population of half a million people covering a very wide demographic. I just think it's a piss poor move to alienate an audience that large. Talk about being out of touch with your customer.
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geo.stewart 1:41PM (11/14/2007)
Fresno, CA?
Wear the Fox hat.
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Yggdrasilly 1:55PM (11/14/2007)
Oh for Christ 's, Vishnu's and Xenu's sake, California! Get a grip. Danny Kaye was making fun of Fresno back in the 40's. If you haven't gotten used to it by now, you may as well change your state motto from "THE GOLDEN STATE" to "STOP MAKING FUN OF MEEEEE!"
Imagine how THAT would look on a license plate...
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YouFaceTheTick 1:57PM (11/14/2007)
What happened that people are so damn sensitive now? Really, why can't advertisers/tv shows/filmmakers make fun of anything anymore? Damn, Fresno does suck. Majorly. It's not Bakersfield or Sacramento awful but it is one of the most awful places in California...people who live there know it!
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iamhoff 2:36PM (11/14/2007)
Fresno? Nobody goes to Fresno anymore!
Matt 11:46AM (11/15/2007)
Are you kidding me? It's much WORSE than Bakersfield! Fresno IS the armpit of the west coast. It has one of the highest per capita crime ratings in the country!!!! There is NO reason to stop there unless you ran out of fuel!
This commercial is offensive, only because it's TRUE and exposing facts which the repressed have supressed in denial!
Luis 2:07PM (11/14/2007)
I be Feinstein didn't even know where Fresno was until she was contacted...lighten up people...I know some people that live in Fresno, even they know it stinks! Are the Dairy cousel big wigs gonna complain about the fun they poke at cows? Give me a break!
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MoonRover 2:08PM (11/14/2007)
Fresno or not that commericial sucked bigtime, wow what a dog. They probably pulled it because is was so awful.
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