• by Karl Greenberg , May 13, 2011

Toyota's Scion division has a new video game embedded as an iTunes app for iPad designed to get college kids interested in the automaker's program that gives graduates $1,000 off a new Scion car. The game, Scion College Rebate Rally, via Scion's creative agency Attik, is in the June iPad edition of the humor site The Onion, a month-long sponsorship.

The game shows as an interstitial ad in The Onion. When players activate it, they see cartoon versions of Scion vehicles that they can launch at targets with touchscreen interaction in three increasingly difficult levels. Players get points for destroying each level's targets and other bonus-point items, and for completing levels using fewer Scions.

Simon Needham, Attik's co-founder and executive creative director, called the game a fun way for college students to become interested in the rebate program, which can be a dry subject even though it involves new cars. The agency dealt with the technical hurdle -- that iPad doesn't run Flash -- by building the game in HTML5.

Jack Hollis, VP of Scion, pointed out in a statement that The Onion is "an extremely popular source of entertainment for our target audience, and engaging them with an immersive experience that closely aligns with The Onion's tone and character was very important."

Needham tells Marketing Daily that the Los Angeles agency will be launching several programs in coming weeks, including a TV spot that also supports the college rebate offer. He says campaign planning has been shifted around somewhat because of the effect of the earthquake near Japan and subsequent tsunami on production. "There's a lot of fun stuff coming up, but it has been a little complicated by what has happened in Japan."

The automaker said this week that it expects U.S. production on a number of vehicles under the Toyota marque to be back on track next month. Scion was affected by the ravages of the tsunami because the Kanto Auto Works Iwate Plant was damaged. That plant makes Scion xB and Scion xD vehicles.

The company has had to postpone the rollout of its newest vehicle, the Scion iQ, a "micro-compact" hatchback, the production version of which was unveiled at last year's New York International Auto Show. The car was originally supposed to go on sale in March this year, and was pushed back to the summer before the March 11 disaster, which forced a second delay.

Needham says other current programs include a Scion Military Discount, and continuation of the "Enter the Machine" campaign that Attik developed last year to tout the 2011 tC sports coupe. Needham says forthcoming new creative will include national media. "We will have some new stories to talk about as things get back up to speed."