Urkel and James Franco Show Off Toyota Scion in Droga5's First Work for Brand
Effort Wears Weirdness as Badge of Honor
Editor's Pick
Droga5 gets weird in its debut work for Toyota Scion since it won creative duties for the brand earlier this year. A series of ads demonstrate the car's various features with the help of Family Matters sitcom character Steve Urkel and the actor who played him, Jaleel White, multi-tasking celebrity and creative guy James Franco, and the familiar mascot who dances around car dealerships across the nation, inflated tube guy.
The spots, directed by Smuggler's Randy Krallman, center on the theme, "Weird, Right?" In one, Jaleel White drives a Scion alongside a wax museum version of Urkel, who rides shotgun. Seated side by side in the Scion IM, they show how the car's dual climate control prevents wax guy from melting while making sure Mr. White doesn't break a sweat -- and how the touch-screen audio system drowns out the canned sitcom laughter that mysteriously plays in the background.
Another funny ad depicts the car dealership tube guy fleeing from his job, enjoying the back-up cam and pre-collision safety system as his loose limbs flail about, while a third features both the Hollywood actor and experimental artist versions of James Franco engaging with the vehicle's features.
The national campaign launched today. According to the agency's statement, the idea driving the work is "that weirdness is a badge of honor. Weirdness comes out of what's right, not what's expected. It's about being brave enough to do what you know makes sense, no matter what everyone else thinks, and try something new. Being weird is about challenging convention and changing the practices and common assumptions that our industry was built on."
The agency has been building on its work for Toyota since it first won business on the brand's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in June of last year and debuted work such as the "Fueled by Bullsh*t" film starring Morgan Spurlock.
Credits
- Date
- Sep 14, 2015
- Brand :
- Scion
- Client :
- Scion
- Agency :
- Droga5-New York
- Director :
- Randy Krallman
- Production Company :
- SMUGGLER
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