The 2018 Toyota Camry campaign is striving to appeal to a diverse pool of consumers, with four commercials aimed at different racial groups.
As reported by The New York Times, the ads target Asian-Americans, African, Hispanic and “Transcultural Mainstream” consumers. Toyota worked with specialized ad agencies to keep up with the country’s demographics shift.
But it’s hard to say if these commercials hit the mark. There hasn’t been backlash against the Camry ads, but there have been numerous controversy surrounding others, like the Pepsi commercial earlier this year featuring Kendall Jenner, which depicted imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement. The ad was pulled after public criticism, accusing the ad of trivializing protests:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/dA5Yq1DLSmQ
There was also backlash over a Dove ad, when the company was pegged as enforcing an offensive depiction of black people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL4b-Il3EnE
So what would you like to see in a diverse ad? What are some ads that hit the mark, and what were some epic fails?
Guest:
Sapna Maheshwari, reporter covering advertising for The New York Times; she wrote the recent article, “Different Ads, Different Ethnicities, Same Car”