DigitalKeeping Africa connected
by Jameson Hlongwane of VWV
Digital · Archive
Hellocomputer takes Toyota 86 on virtual route
From the AdVantage archive. This report was published on this domain when AdVantage covered the South African media, marketing and advertising industry as a monthly title. It is kept online for reference and has not been updated; people, prices and companies named in it have moved on.
Toyota South Africa has followed up the heart-pounding television commercial with which it launched its high-performance Toyota 86 with a microsite and game of international standards to set pulses racing even faster.
Conceptualised and brought to life by Hellocomputer’s Johannesburg and Cape Town offices, and hosted within Facebook, the game demonstrates how, just like the real-life Toyota 86, the virtual Toyota 86 turns your city into your playground.
It takes place in a Gotham-inspired cityscape that highlights the sedan’s agility and pace within confined, as well as open, spaces.
The treatment is also a nod to Japanese Drift King, Dorikin Keiichi Tsuchiya, who provided the Toyota research & development team with design input for the 86. Comic books in this dark and edgy style are extremely popular in Japan.
The game consists of two phases: phase 1 lasted a week and allowed the gamer to hone his or her driving skills by exploring the city; phase 2 is all about racing and pitting the skills they’ve learnt against other racers on virtual tracks.
Gamers can design their own race tracks and – using Facebook – challenge their friends to best them on the urban courses they’ve created in the city.
The game currently has over 1500 likes and more than 1200 active participants, and interest is growing daily.
Other elements of the digital campaign created by Hellocomputer include a ‘how to’ video explaining exactly how to participate in the game and enhance your driving skills; the microsite, which features a link to the game, Toyota 86 specifications, a gallery and a mechanism for booking a test drive; online advertising in the form of Facebook ads, Facebook premium ads and banners on relevant web site; and various updates to the Toyota website.
View them all here:
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