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Buddy pays homage to Toyota Hilux

Buddy, Toyota SA's much-loved canine spokesman, pays homage to the Toyota Hilux in a 10-second television commercial introducing the Legend40, launched to mark the vehicle's 40 years as one of the country's favourite ‘tough guys'.
Buddy pays homage to Toyota Hilux

Developed by Draftfcb South Africa group chief creative officer, Brett Morris; Draftfcb Johannesburg executive creative director, James Cloete; and art director, Ivor Forrester, the ad started flighting on select television channels for the first time on March 25. It is being supported by a print campaign and a cut-down of the original Hilux ‘Sheep' TV commercial.

In the ad, Buddy sits on the dealer floor, admiring the Legend40's good looks and praising Hilux's legendary status. And, being Buddy, he just has to crack a joke. This time, it is at the expense of the dealer because he asks for a test drive - for him and the sheep from the first commercial he did for the Hilux.

Buddy pays homage to Toyota Hilux

Of course, Buddy is well on his way to joining the Hilux as a South African legend. Last month, two of the commercials in which he featured made the Millward Brown Adtrack™ Top 10 Most Liked list for 2009.

Adtrack™ is an effective advertising research system that tracks the liking and noting performance of all television commercials flighted annually. These scores are collated into a comprehensive report highlighting the top performers, that is, the country's best ads according to the most important critics, the consumers.

Buddy pays homage to Toyota Hilux

For the 2009 year, the Top 10 Most Liked list featured two of Toyota's ads. Buddy and Draftfcb Johannesburg provided the country's 2nd most liked ad, as well as its 10th. These were Toyota Corolla ‘Buddy' and Toyota Hilux ‘Buddy - Sheep'. The ad that ranked top of the list was a global ad produced in Holland.

Said Draftfcb Johannesburg's Executive Creative Director, James Cloete: “For every critic of Buddy's acting style, there are 100s of supporters, as evidenced by the giggles of delight his appearances on both the big and the small screen are provoking.

Buddy pays homage to Toyota Hilux

“We're immensely gratified by the positive response of ordinary South Africans to the smart-talking canine with attitude's debut on television in the last quarter of 2009, because we know that best liked ads really do build brands.”

Added Toyota SA's Senior Manager: Marketing Communications Planning & Advertising, Pieter Klerck: “Buddy is now a familiar Toyota property, yet has allowed us to maintain all the individual product personalities of Corolla, Hilux et al. He's helped us maintain share of voice in the media, regain our position among the top three automotive manufacturers, and protect - as well as increase in some sectors - our market share in tough times. And, using Buddy, we have managed to communicate all our messages with literally half the budget. He's a powerful force!”

The agency shares the credit for Buddy's fast-growing popularity with Bouffant Productions and Sinister Studio, responsible for the extensive post-production. Comedian Chris Forest, the voice of Buddy, also adds life and spark to the commercials.

Click here to view the ad. [2MB]

29 Mar 2010 08:42

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