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Toyota’s First-Ever GR Corolla is “Rally Ready”

Toyota launches two new campaigns showcasing GR Corolla and the GR Family

PLANO, Texas (October 17, 2022) – The all-new, first-ever 2023 Toyota GR Corolla’s campaign, “Rally Ready,” debuts today featuring the track ready vehicle, built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. As the newest addition to the Gazoo Racing (GR) Family, the GR Corolla, alongside the GR86 and GR Supra, is featured prominently in Toyota’s new GR Family campaign, “Race Cars for the Real World,” also launching today.

“The all-new GR Corolla joins the GR Family and connects drivers to the pavement with vehicles that make your heart skip a beat,” said Lisa Materazzo, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. “The GR Corolla and GR Family campaigns reflect the renewed excitement and uncompromising energy inspired by Gazoo Racing’s legacy of performance.”

Toyota developed the integrated GR Corolla campaign and the GR Family campaign with its Total Toyota (T2) model in mind. The T2 model integrates efforts to create a cohesive marketing approach inclusive of multicultural marketing and the mainstream market.

  • Saatchi & Saatchi, Conill Advertising and Intertrend Communications created GR Corolla campaign assets
  • Saatchi & Saatchi and Intertrend Communications contributed to the GR Family campaign creative

The campaigns showcase a unified style across all creative throughout the spots, which are highlighted below.

In the “Running Wild” spot created by Saatchi & Saatchi for the GR Corolla campaign, a series of Toyota vehicles line up on a tarmac, ready for a “family photo.” The all-new GR Corolla bursts into the shot drifting across the track as the photo is snapped. Later in the spot, the vehicle downshifts, when we see driver Ryan Tuerck and his GR Corolla Formula Drift car as a nod to Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Team.

Saatchi also created the action-packed spot “Meet the Family” for the GR Family campaign featuring GR Supra, GR86 and GR Corolla vehicles from the Toyota Gazoo Racing family, alongside Toyota Gazoo Racing team members Fredric Aasbø, Ken Gushi and Ryan Tuerck. The spot is a playful take on the concept of “meeting the family.” All Saatchi spots were directed by Mark Jenkinson.

Intertrend Communications’ first GR Corolla spot, “Legacy,” captures the dreamlike moment when viewers finally own the car of their dreams, the GR Corolla. Intertrend’s second spot, titled “That’s Insane” shows the impact of the GR Corolla’s engineering and performance features that thrill on the street or the track.

Intertrend has two spots for the GR Family campaign. “Something Real,” speaks to those who are ready to join Toyota Gazoo Racing, a community whose aspirations align with the legacy, heritage, performance, and passion of the brand. The second spot, “The Chase” pays homage to the icons who have paved the path forward for JDM (Japanese Domestic Market). Intertrend’s GR Corolla spots were directed by Nick Martini and GR Family spots by Miles Cable.

Conill Advertising developed three non-linear spots for the GR Corolla campaign titled “Memories,” “Poster,” and “Toy Car,” where viewers catch a glimpse of the emotional connection between the driver and their GR Corolla. The spots were directed by Chris Hewitt.

Media Placements

GR Corolla Campaign
The GR Corolla campaign is an integrated campaign extending across connected TV, digital video, digital content, programmatic, paid social and print. Digital content/video includes partners such as YouTube, Vevo, Amazon, Peacock, Hulu Latino, and more. Partnerships include Super League Gaming, Variety, Canela.TV, and Influential, among others. Social is across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok, to name a few.

GR Family Campaign
The GR Family campaign is an integrated campaign extending across connected TV, digital video, digital content, paid social, audio, and experiential. Customized partnerships include Hypebeast, Motortrend, TikTok, Snapchat, Hypebae, Pandora, KCON and Hearst. The Hearst partnership will include high-performance driving events with guest Toyota Pro-Drivers at an official NASA track. Digital content/video includes partners such as Vice, Hulu, Spotify, YouTube, Fox Sports, and more. Social is across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitch.

The campaign spots are available for viewing here. For images and credits, please click here.

About the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla
Rooted in rally, developed under the scrutiny of master driver Akio Toyoda and inspired by Toyota’s sports car lineage, the first-ever 2023 GR Corolla looks to rocket to the top of driver wish lists as it debuts at dealerships this Fall.

Key features include:

  • 1.6L, three-cylinder turbo engine delivers 300 hp and up to 295 pound-feet of torque
  • GR-FOUR AWD system with selectable front-rear power settings
  • Available in three models: Core grade, launch-year-exclusive Circuit Edition and ultra-limited MORIZO Edition
  • Born from rally racing and tested to meet the highest standards set by master driver Akio Toyoda and professional TOYOTA GAZOO Racing drivers
  • Pure Toyota sports car, precision built in the Gazoo Racing Factory at Toyota's Motomachi Plant
  • Complimentary 1-year membership to the National Auto Sport Association, featuring a High-Performance Driving Event with expert instruction
  • Starting MSRP of $35,900

About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.  

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants.  By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.  With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

About TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing embodies Toyota’s commitment to overcoming every limit to make ‘ever-better’ cars, to forge new technologies and solutions under the extreme conditions of motorsports, and to never stop innovating. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing races its cars to push the limits for better and to learn from the toughest challenges. Competing on every kind of road, no matter what the challenge, inspires TOYOTA GAZOO Racing to build ‘ever-better’ cars and engineer Toyota’s future DNA to bring freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone. For more information, visit www.toyotagazooracing.com.

Media Contacts:
Paul Hogard
Toyota Motor North America
[email protected]

Ava Weaver
Saatchi for Toyota
469-357-2114
[email protected]

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