Everyone loves to complain about the weatherman messing up the forecast, but Toyota decided to actually do something about it.
At least, that's the premise of this new reality-style ad for the automaker's Aygo model (sold in Europe). In the two-minute spot, three television forecasters are given special versions of the car to drive, with a sunroof rigged to stay closed when he or she predicts rain, and open when he or she expects it to shine—regardless of what actually comes out of the skies.
Cue obvious footage of one weather anchor cursing as a small mountain of snow dumps onto her head (did she not see it, or did the rules bar her from sweeping it off before she got in?), and another hilariously pleading for mercy as he gets drenched in a downpour.
It's all framed as an experiment, if tongue in cheek, so the results aren't surprising— the world's favorite rhetorical punching bags get the weather right some of the time. And as with most documentary marketing, it should probably be taken with more than one grain of salt.
In other words, Toyota isn't exactly taking much of a risk by piling on. But it's fun enough to watch, in a revenge-schadenfreude kind of way. For all those times you got caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella, sit back and grab some popcorn, because it sure beats blaming the atmosphere.
Agency: Del Campo Saatchi and Saatchi Spain.