We don’t yet know which NFL teams will be playing in Super Bowl LIV in Miami in February, but the field of automotive advertising competitors has grown by one: Toyota.
The Japanese brand said it has purchased airtime for a 60-second commercial to kick off the marketing campaign for its redesigned 2020 Highlander three-row crossover. Toyota dealers began receiving 2020 Highlanders this week, and a hybrid version is expected to be in dealerships in February. Toyota says the Highlander’s marketing campaign is expected to run from the game through mid-July.
“We’re excited to feature the all-new 2020 Highlander in our spot in the Big Game,” Ed Laukes, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America, said in a written statement. “There’s no better way to kick off the marketing campaign for the fourth generation of this benchmark SUV than during the most-watched television event of the year.”
In the first three quarters of the year, the Highlander was the best-selling large crossover in the U.S., according to the Automotive News Data Center. Through November, Toyota sold 218,989 units, a 1.1 percent decrease compared with same period last year.
Last year, Toyota used the Super Bowl to promote the 2019 RAV4 and the return of the Supra to its lineup.
The commercial will be produced by Saatchi & Saatchi, part of Toyota’s cross-agency marketing model in collaboration with Burrell Communications, Conill Advertising and Intertrend, with Zenith Media responsible for TV and Outdoor media buying.
So far, Audi, Hyundai, Kia and Porsche have announced they will run ads during next year’s Super Bowl.