The Toyota Blog

Buddy, the charismatic brindle Boxer brought to the small screen by Toyota South Africa and its marketing partner of nearly half a century’s standing, Draftfcb Johannesburg, has made a second television commercial.

The new ad, which started flighting on October 16 – less than a month after Buddy’s television debut on September 24 in a TV commercial for the Toyota Corolla – takes the canine star to a dry Karoo farm for the Toyota Hilux.

Said Marius Vorster, Toyota South Africa’s Vice President of Marketing Planning & Communications: “We are thrilled with the response to Buddy. From his very first grin in the Toyota Corolla ad, he captured the imagination of the South African public, and the hearts of Toyota customers.

“They immediately identified with his down-to-earth, spontaneous and enthusiastic approach to life and recognised right away that these were qualities that they had grown to trust and respect in the Toyota brand.

“It was always our intention to use Buddy to promote all parts of our business, and now he stars in an ad for the Toyota Hilux to drive home, once again, that Toyota is a grounded, unpretentious but fun-loving South African company.”

In the new commercial, Buddy abandons any attempts to behave with sophistication and grace. Instead, he has fun on the farm mocking the sheep he encounters and making bad jokes, whilst recognising the Hilux’s toughness.

Once again, the ad was developed by Draftfcb Johannesburg’s creative team of group executive creative director Brett Morris, James Cloete and Ivor Forrester, and relied on clever direction by Bouffant Productions and extensive post-production by Sinister Studio to ‘bring Buddy to life’ as he has the only ‘talking part’ in the script.

According to group business director on the account, Romaine Mackenzie, trust is the one quality Toyota truly owns, the one characteristic its competitors can’t challenge it on. So, its communication needs to remind consumers that Toyota vehicles are ‘loyal’ and will never let you down.

“In adspeak, our icon represents a different approach to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these challenging times. He is the dog’s dog; the epitome of reliability, honesty, loyalty and warm-heartedness, he personifies the Toyota brand in a universal way. This approach is fresh, it is distinctive versus different, it has tonality, and provides consumers with a talking point,” she said.