Toyota "will tout its newly redesigned" '16 Prius in a Super Bowl ad, "using advertising's biggest stage to show off the hybrid car that has appeared in the game just once before," according to E.J. Schultz of AD AGE. The 60-second spot "will run during the two-minute warning in the first half." The automaker "declined to share creative details other than to say that the ad was humorous and was shot" in L.A. and Chicago via agency Saatchi & Saatchi, L.A. Toyota is making its fifth straight appearance in the Super Bowl, "but the automaker has not dedicated a spot to Prius in the game" since '05. Other auto brands that "have confirmed Super Bowl 50 ads are Honda, Hyundai, Acura, Kia, Mini and Buick." Toyota-owned Lexus recently confirmed that it "does not have plans to run an ad in the game" (ADAGE.com, 1/11). Toyota Group VP/Marketing Jack Hollis said that the company's Prius ad "will kick off a 'comedy of errors' campaign for the new Prius and will mix humor and drama, and run through the summer." In N.Y., Michael McCarthy noted on the heels of last year’s "somber string of ads" during the Super Bowl, some advertisers have already decided they "plan to rely on humor and heartwarming stories." One candidate for Doritos' "Crash the Super Bowl" ad "shows the actress Doris Roberts, best known for her Emmy-winning role on 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' using a Tinder-like dating app." A second ad "shows a couple’s ultrasound test going haywire," and the third "relies on that familiar advertising fallback: cute dogs." The feel-good ads by Toyota and Doritos "may come as a relief to viewers after last year’s game." Nationwide attempted to "start a conversation by airing a spot from the perspective of a dead child," while Coca-Cola and the NFL "aired serious ads about cyberbullying and domestic violence" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/11).
