Scion Reaches Beyond Youth With Help From Greek God Zeus

Scion isn't mainly for young drivers anymore.

When Toyota introduced its sub-brand in 2000, it was touted as a car for first-time buyers aged 18 to 24, and over the years has used its own record label, ties to film, guerrilla marketing and even forehead ads to reach its youthful target.

But the credit crunch and scarcer jobs among its core demographic are leading to a tougher sales challenge -- Scion sales peaked in 2006, when 173,000 cars were sold and dropped to 45,000 last year, according to Automotive News. So the automaker is launching a TV and video push aimed at broadening its target market to 18- to 34-year-olds featuring a rather unlikely spokesman -- the Greek god Zeus -- for its tC model, which accounts for roughly half of its total sales.

In commercials, which break June 27 from agency Attik, "Zeus" is seen fraternizing with mortals. Attik has also created video vignettes from outtakes it hopes will go viral from the commercial's filming for the limited-edition tC Release Series vehicle, due in July. The video will be posted on the Scion website later today and on YouTube and forwarded to bloggers.

The goal is to generate buzz for the ad through the outtakes before it appears. "We're advertising the car in a way we've never done before," said Owen Peacock, national marketing-communications manager for Scion, who would not discuss budgets other than to say the video "allows us the freedom to distribute more creative content" than it would cost to purchase time on broadcast stations.

The Scion brand was supported with $20 million in measured media last year, according to Kantar Media, compared to $888 million for Toyota and $211 million for Lexus during that time.

Mr. Peacock said Zeus, the God of thunder and lightning, embodied the car's "high-voltage" color, playing along with the idea that "no mere human mortal could have made this car," he said. The outtakes, which run about 60 seconds, are called "On the set with Zeus." They portray a cocky Zeus stuck in modern times shown trying to woo the woman who appears with him in the commercial, asking her to write her phone number on parchment paper, poking fun at "Greek yogurt" and discussing the time share he bought on Mount Olympus.

The bright-yellow car serves as the backdrop in some of the spots. "There will really be a fun tone to this campaign," Mr. Peacock said. He said the agency focused on a comedic approach because of research that indicates there's more interest in sharing humorous information. The hope is that the video will spark people to share it before the spot breaks. "You can't downplay how important that is," he said.

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Scion Reaches Beyond Youth With Help From Greek God Zeus
Scion Reaches Beyond Youth With Help From Greek God Zeus

So the automaker is launching a TV and video push aimed at broadening its target market to 18- to 34-year-olds featuring a rather unlikely spokesman -- the Greek god Zeus -- for its tC model, which accounts for roughly half of its total sales.



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Scion Targets Older Buyers With New Ads, Because Youth Are Broke
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While the TV spot and YouTube clips, which feature the Greek god Zeus, are aimed at being the sort of thing you'd want to share with a friend, Scion is hoping both you, and your Facebook buddies, are of a slightly older demographic. The reason?



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Scion Reaches Beyond Youth With Help From Greek God Zeus | News ...

Scion isn't mainly for young drivers anymore.

When Toyota introduced its sub-brand in 2000, it was touted as a car for first-time buyers aged 18 to 24, and over the years has used its own record label, ties to film, guerrilla marketing and even forehead ads to reach its youthful target.

But the credit crunch and scarcer jobs among its core demographic are leading to a tougher sales challenge -- Scion sales peaked in 2006, when 173,000 cars were sold and dropped to 45,000 last year, according to Automotive News. So the automaker is launching a TV and video push aimed at broadening its target market to 18- to 34-year-olds featuring a rather unlikely spokesman -- the Greek god Zeus -- for its tC model, which accounts for roughly half of its total sales.

In commercials, which break June 27 from agency Attik, "Zeus" is seen fraternizing with mortals. Attik has also created video vignettes from outtakes it hopes will go viral from the commercial's filming for the limited-edition tC Release Series vehicle, due in July. The video will be posted on the Scion website later today and on YouTube and forwarded to bloggers.

The goal is to generate buzz for the ad through the outtakes before it appears. "We're advertising the car in a way we've never done before," said Owen Peacock, national marketing-communications manager for Scion, who would not discuss budgets other than to say the video "allows us the freedom to distribute more creative content" than it would cost to purchase time on broadcast stations.

The Scion brand was supported with $20 million in measured media last year, according to Kantar Media, compared to $888 million for Toyota and $211 million for Lexus during that time.

Mr. Peacock said Zeus, the God of thunder and lightning, embodied the car's "high-voltage" color, playing along with the idea that "no mere human mortal could have made this car," he said. The outtakes, which run about 60 seconds, are called "On the set with Zeus." They portray a cocky Zeus stuck in modern times shown trying to woo the woman who appears with him in the commercial, asking her to write her phone number on parchment paper, poking fun at "Greek yogurt" and discussing the time share he bought on Mount Olympus.

The bright-yellow car serves as the backdrop in some of the spots. "There will really be a fun tone to this campaign," Mr. Peacock said. He said the agency focused on a comedic approach because of research that indicates there's more interest in sharing humorous information. The hope is that the video will spark people to share it before the spot breaks. "You can't downplay how important that is," he said.


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