• by Larissa Faw , September 23, 2016

Toyota is teaming with NASCAR driver Carl Edwards for the automaker’s second sports-themed broadcast campaign this year. 

Developed with agency Saatchi & Saatchi LA, the concept is designed to highlight the love of tailgating rituals by dedicated NASCAR fans. The clip shows three friends sitting in a parking lot discussing Edwards as an RV expands next to them taking up their space. Their anger dissipates as soon as the RV unveils an Edwards flag. 

It also shows fans performing a backflip off a picnic table with a cameo by Edwards as he critiques the form. This serves as an inside joke, since Edwards is well-known for performing backflips after a win. 

“We decided that we wanted to use Carl in this commercial -- especially because his signature backflip added a great opportunity for humor in the spot. He is very educated about our brand, and a great ambassador for Toyota on and off the racetrack," said Nick Ammazzalorso, marketing communications manager, Toyota Motor Sales.  

In conjunction with the campaign, for the second year Toyota and Saatchi LA are releasing FanMojis, a series of sports emojis, available through a free iOS application. In addition to the NASCAR emojis, there are FanMojis for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer.

Earlier sports-themed spots from the carmaker debuted on "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts. They focused on human connections and relationships through sports, including fathers and sons, co-parents and longtime friends, and featured Toyota vehicles, including Camry, Tundra, Highlander, and RAV4.

Toyota has been involved with NASCAR for more than a decade. Previous drivers to be featured in Toyota ads include 2015 Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch and 2016 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.