Toyota exudes a sense of hope as consumers and companies emerge from lockdowns

As an industry that is reliant on people being out and about, the auto sector has been knocked hard by the pandemic. Confined consumers have been (or still are) unable to get into their cars and drive for work or play, let alone visit dealerships to consider new cars for themselves. 

While auto brands have spent much of 2020 sheltering in place, some of them have tried to keep their customers engaged, hoping for brighter times. A new film from Toyota (above) suggests that needle may have moved. it's a stirring piece of work from ADK Singapore, which not only lists Toyota's efforts and investments to battle the virus across Southeast Asia, but also exudes a sense of hope that personal movement and business may be slowly revving up.  

This nut has noted the disappearance of human friends over the past few months and is happy to see they're slowly emerging again. While patting yourself on your back for pandemic-related aid is one thing, it is nice to see that Toyota is taking this narrative ahead and focussing more on the consumers' journey—contrasting empty streets and lockdown with the simple joy of a spontaneous road trip. 

The ad also recognises that while things are opening up, the 'new normal' (to use a cliché), may look markedly different from just a few months ago. At the end of the film, the carefree family we saw taking a happy trip in the beginning is ready to hit the road again. But this picture of the future seems to include hygiene precautions and business innovations like virtual test drives. 

CREDITS 

ADK Singapore
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Gurney
Senior Copywriter: Anamika Choudhury
Chief Strategy Officer: Shantanu Dasgupta
Regional Business Director: Joshua Okada
Producer: Deborah Ng
Account Manager: Vichelle Wong

Heckler Singapore
Editor: Claire Ang
Colourist: Pete Ritchie
Executive Producer: Richard Mayo-Smith

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