Toyota wants you to know it has a car that literally runs on bullshit.
This new ad for the automaker's Mirai fuel cell vehicle features an engineer visiting a dairy farm, loading a pickup bed with cow manure, taking it to be processed into hydrogen and using it to power a ride.
Directed by Morgan Spurlock, the ad is the first in a series titled "Fueled by Everything." Created by Droga5, the campaign hopes to persuade consumers that hydrogen cars are a viable alternative to internal combustion engines, despite a skeptical marketplace—hence the ad's mix of folksy and defensive. (Ron the farmer's cool demeanor casts doubt on his sincerity at moments, but there are some real action shots of heifers unloading.)
A small number of Mirais go on sale in California this fall, and Toyota's tack is to point out the abundance of fuel—not just crap, but also sunlight, wind and more—presumably in part because a leading criticism of the technology is the shortage of hydrogen stations. One doesn't follow the other, but Toyota is working with other car makers to develop infrastructure in the Golden State.
It's not clear though, whether drivers will be able to bring their own manure.
