Toyota is a car manufacturer headquartered in Japan since 1937. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided computer-animated fish for a series of 1998 Toyota-sponsored interstitials and the Muppets appeared in a series of 2014 ad for the Toyota Highlander.
2014 Superbowl Toyota Highlander commercial
The Muppets appeared in a commercial for the Toyota Highlander with Terry Crews which aired during the 2014 Super Bowl (at 7:55 EST). On January 28, five days before "the big game," Kermit the Frog appeared on Good Morning America to debut the full ad; the ad was also released by Toyota on their YouTube channel later that day.
A teaser for the ad was published by USA Today on January 21, and Access Hollywood aired a couple of exclusive behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with Crews, Kermit the Frog, Floyd and Zoot the same day.[1][2] Toyota released several Vine videos and Instagram videos featuring the Muppets to promote the ad and its slogan "no room for boring."[3][4]
A music video for an extended version of the commercial's song "No Room for Boring" was released online on January 30.
Cast and Crew
Muppets (in order of appearance):
- Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Sweetums, Animal, Dr. Teeth, Gonzo, Pepe the King Prawn, Janice, Camilla, chickens, Rowlf the Dog, singing vegetables, The Swedish Chef, Rizzo the Rat, and Kermit the Frog
Humans:
Director:
Other commercials
Extended music video
Bloopers
Road trip videos
February 24, 2014
March 8, 2014
March 8, 2014
March 10, 2014
Road Trip ads
In the days between the Super Bowl and the premiere of Muppets Most Wanted, Toyota posted photos of the Muppets on their "road trip" from the stadium to Hollywood on their Instagram account.
Other Instagram ads
In the months following the initial marketing push, Toyota's Instagram account posted several additional ads.
Behind the scenes
Print ads
Web browser ad
A pop-up ad appeared on Yahoo.com during the week following the Superbowl. It featured two levels: one in which you had to shoot chickens from a cannon through the roof of the Toyota, and another where you launch Muppets from a catapult into the back of the car. [1]
ITV Movie Premiere interstitials
In 1998, Jim Henson's Creature Shop produced a series of 30 interstitials for Toyota that aired on ITV in the UK. The ads featured a pair of goldfish who act out famous scenes from various movies. This was used until 2000. The ads won a LEAF award in 1999 and were a winner at the Rushes SoHo Shorts Festival.[5]
Sources
- ↑ AccessHollywood.com Terry Crews & The Muppets Team Up For Toyota Super Bowl Spot (2014-01-21) (2:51 minute video)
- ↑ AccessHollywood.com Terry Crews & The Muppets’ Super Bowl Commercial: Behind The Scenes (2014-01-21) (1:13 minute video)
- ↑ There's room for Animal and his big drum kit in back of #ToyotaHighlander, but #NoRoomForBoring
- ↑ Room for a talking dog...and his piano. #NoRoomForBoring. Play along with Rowlf in the All-New #ToyotaHighlander
- ↑ creatureshop.com Official Website