automotive

Scion To Young Drivers: 'Enter The Machine'

Scion

Toyota's Scion division is launching a new campaign for the 2011 tC sports coupe via its agency Attik. "Enter the Machine" includes cross-media promotions in print, online and cable television, and on billboards in 24 U.S. cities. The creative teases the new vehicle (which comes out in September) with messages about the car's power and performance, and up-market accoutrements.

The campaign includes a search engine keyword buy for the term "the machine" to drive traffic to the new TakeOnTheMachine.com site. The central conceit of the vehicle launch is that the machine isn't the car but the city. This is in keeping with Scion campaigns of past years that showcase night-time cities in which the cars roam.

Says Simon Needham, co-founder of the agency, "In this campaign, the city represents 'the machine,' and it signifies the obstacles our young, male audience members face in their daily lives, while the 2011 tC is the answer for taking on the machine, and winning."

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He says that personalized adventures will be expanded with next month's launch campaign to include augmented reality and 3D.

The teaser launched on Monday with a 15-second TV spot produced by Attik and production company Imaginary Forces that shows the tC cars careering through the Orwellian city.

Owen Peacock, Scion national marketing and communications manager, says the site will roll up to speed in coming weeks. "There are some active components already in terms of galleries and vehicle specs." He says video elements will begin on the site this week as well. The idea is we will tease it a bit and add content leading to the full-blown launch," he says.

The term "machine" is deliberately ambivalent, per Peacock, who says the viewer is meant to wonder to some extent whether the machine is the car, the cityscape or the institutions (the authority figures and establishment) that are part of the site's forthcoming augmented-reality game where the good guys are the cars and the bad guys "everything else," per Peacock. "The first piece you have is 'Enter the Machine,' but when the game launches, the site will have a 'Take On the Machine' theme, with more blown-out content."

The median age of tC buyers is around 26, the youngest of any vehicle in the industry. "The demographic is obviously very in tune with online experiences and gaming. We want to make the site as sticky as possible."

The urban, sometimes dystopian themes have been part of Scion imagery since the brand launched. There are also links to Facebook and Twitter on the site. "We haven't made a huge effort with social as far as tC goes," says Peacock, "But with augmented reality you have the ability to share it across social media, so it's all integrated."

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