Exceptional People Make the Impossible Happen in New Toyota Campaign
Toyota and The&Partnership launched their new campaign, 'Drop by Drop’ on Saturday 23rd February during the England vs Wales Six Nation rugby match. Shot by Independent Films’ Johnny Hardstaff across five European locations, the short films and TVC showcase five exceptional human beings who have defied their physical limitations to make the impossible happen. Within each story of this pan-European campaign, natural parallels are drawn between the Toyota Mirai and the sweat of each exerted body as both push themselves through their Impossible Journey. Mirai, which translates from Japanese as ‘the future’ only emits water, and is part of Toyota’s bigger vision of a fully emission-free society.
Dario Giustini, head of brand communications at Toyota Europe, said: "Toyota have been leading the way when it comes to Hydrogen technology, as part of the company’s mission to create an emission free society. To some people, that may seem like an impossible achievement but just like the five incredible heroes within this campaign, Toyota understands that impossible is not something we can achieve overnight."
Shot in five different European locations, each contributor was chosen for their incredible stories - stories where they have overcome their bodies limitations and physically pushed themselves to fulfil their Impossible Journey and reach their destination.
“How do you measure impossible? Simple. You measure it in sweat and tears. The drops your body pours when, bit by bit, you try, you fall, you learn, and then you get up and go again. Until one day it happens… a world record is broken, limitations are shattered, a car that emits nothing but water is built. You know, those things people thought were impossible,” said André Moreira, executive creative director, Team Toyota, The&Partnership.
We watch as the enigmatic Lily (UK) smashes to the ground in her wheelchair, only to then see her succeed later as she launches herself across a skate park, flipping herself over half pipes and hitting ramps at high speeds. We hear how surfer, Aitor (Spain) lost his sight after a giant wave struck him and marvel at his bravery for entering the water again, blind, forever in the dark.
Robert (France), the incredibly limber 107-year-old who still cycles as part of a team around his local velodrome. The rock climber, Rannveig (Norway) who fell 15 meters and who was told she would never walk again; scales a vertical face whilst displaying the scars of her injuries and Simona (Italy); dancer, author, a motivational speaker who tells us that “from the greatest, most difficult things, the most beautiful things are born”, whilst showing us that her disability is in fact her strength, rather than her weakness.
"There’s a creative bravery to this project; to do these stories justice we felt it was essential to capture these remarkable people free of all artifice. To truly land the emotional weight of these lives, there could be no costume or art department, there could be no storyboards or anything that you would normally find on a shoot; just us recording them doing what they do every day in the purest way possible; because their lives are all unique and rich as they are. I hope the results demonstrate how advertising can be incredibly resonant when you create room for emotional truth,” said Independent Films director, Johnny Hardstaff
“These beautiful and inspiring films extol the human spirit of perseverance, courage and commitment and combine incredible stories with compelling visuals. For me it was a fabulous opportunity to explore the subtlety observed portraiture and reveal the crafted cinematography which dictated the differing palettes and moods of the individual subjects. The message that the impossible is possible completely underscores these films and it was a joy to work with Johnny and such a wonderful team,” said Seamus O’Kane, The Mill’s head of colour.
The campaign, a European continuation of the Global Olympic and Paralympic ‘Start Your Impossible’ campaign from 2018. Due to be live across Cinema, Video on demand, Social and Display, the media strategy leads with an audience-first approach where tailored pieces of content will be showcased based on live audience data. The result is a highly relevant, audience-led campaign which aims to engage consumers through powerful and relevant storytelling, and by doing so, sharing with them Toyota’s vision.
Additional to this, an editorial content partnership is in place with international Media partner, Verizon Media. This strategic alliance will help spread Toyota’s impossible stories across their wide-reaching media portfolio, this includes the likes of TechCrunch, Tumblr, Huffpost and Yahoo.
