Toyota has launched a new
advertising campaign aimed at educating Americans about the company’s involvement in and importance to the U.S.
economy. The billboards highlight such facts as 386,000 jobs have been created in this country by Toyota and the
company’s invested $13 billion in the U.S. since it arrived over 35 years ago. The ads have been placed along
highways in two dozen markets where Toyota operates factories or has supplier operations.
Reactions to the
ads are obviously varied depending on who you ask. The general consumer these days who cares more about “Bang for
the Buck” than “Buy American” is comfortable with the Japanese automaker’s increasing presence
in the U.S. economy. Members of the UAW and other organized unions, however, whose domestic employers have been losing
marketshare to Toyota at a rapid rate are not pleased. The linked NewsDay article
points out that the UAW in particular has been weakened by the presence of Toyota’s and other foreign
automakers’ nonunion operations.
[Source: NewsDay]
Note – No pics of the
actual billboards were available, so we had some fun in Photoshop above.