Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand Creates 3.5 Tonne Headline for Toyota

Over the last few weeks, some people have spotted an unusual sight on the roads of New Zealand. A Toyota Hilux Hybrid pulling an impressive load on a large 3-axle trailer. It’s a four-metre-tall headline built from 3.5 tonnes of steel. The headline reads ‘JUST A HILUX HYBRID TOWING A 3.5 TONNE HEADLINE’ and is the centrepiece of an advertising campaign for the new 2024 Hilux range, which are now exclusively all Hybrids.

Susanne Hardy, assistant vice president, Toyota New Zealand explains, “Introducing Hybrid to Hilux is the first small step in the Hilux journey to cleaner energy. We know that the Hilux Hybrid is as capable, if not more capable than its predecessor. This campaign is about showcasing the grunt and reliability of the Hilux Hybrid that our customers expect from a Hilux. And of course, that it absolutely delivers.”

The 3.5 tonne headline looks as much a kind of brutalist sculpture as it does a piece of mobile out-of-home. You might not call it beautiful, but it’s certainly stunning. The design by Ben Lockwood of Craftshop was engineered by Andrew Turney from Gyro in a warehouse west of Auckland. It took two months to build using tonnes of steel, 974 bolts, and 6512 spot welds, before being mounted on the purpose-built 6-metre-long trailer. The headline is really in fact two, as it was replicated and set back-to-back to be read from either side. The trailer was towed to the local weighing station to check both its road worthiness and legitimise its big headline’s claim.

Steve Cochran, chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand says, “I loved this idea the moment I saw it. A mobile billboard isn’t anything new, but a headline that is literally a product demonstration is super surprising. Yes, it’s a little meta, but if the reaction it gets on highways with people winding down windows to take photos is anything to go on, we think it’ll be just as popular as past Hilux campaigns.”

So far, the headline has already been towed to many locations for content filming. However, it’s now headed out on tour to events including A&P shows all around the country for the next few months. A media partnership with The Rock will also see it turning up at various locations and dealerships throughout both islands (it’s booked to go on the inter-island ferry). Online content will be posted along the way using the handle #hiluxhybridtour. The trailer acts as the headline in traditional large format OOH, and features in short-form videos, one of which shows how it was made, something the target audience of farmers and tradies will be quite curious about.

Steve says, “This campaign didn’t have the budget for a big traditional awareness campaign, but the brief was to make Hilux Hybrid famous in every New Zealand rural community. We’re pretty chuffed that the 3.5 tonne headline is literally on the road to do that.”