APL wins £5m Toyota task for small brands

Ammirati Puris Lintas has won a &£5m brief from Toyota Europe to create a campaign for the car giant’s slow selling brands.

APL was awarded the account last week. This followed a four-way pitch in April, which was believed to include FCB and Dentsu.

A multinational team led by Philippe Bernard, chairman and chief executive officer of APL Paris, will start creative work for the smaller volume model: the Camry, Celica, MR2, Picnic, Starlet, Land Cruiser and RAV4. It is thought the campaign will run in France, Sweden, Denmark and Spain, but it will not be screened in the UK, where Toyota Great Britain’s &£33m advertising is handled by Saatchi.

Toyota Europe says the Toyota Advertising Network, the structure under which the key roster agencies present ideas for each pan-European car launch, is to be phased out for these low-volume brands.

Toyota Europe brand communications manager Andy Pfeiffenberger says: “We felt it was time for a formal central agency [for the low-volume brands]. The spot-by-spot pitch process was inefficient, and was not building a strong Toyota backbone.”

John Howett, group marketing director for Toyota Europe, says: “Bernard and his team share our brand vision and bring with them the essential passion and discipline we require.”

Toyota’s media buying will continue to be handled locally by different agencies across Europe. The company retains Saatchi Design and Joshua for its central below-the-line work.