The long form video of the Toyota Highlander video entitled "Scatter" that I (and many YouTube commenters) whined about earlier has now been made "private" meaning by ToyotaUSA channel. It is no longer accessible to anybody on YouTube. Does that mean we win? Were they finally ashamed enough to pull it? Did my "Fuck this elitist bullshit" comment put them over the edge?
Coincidentally, I still have the comment page open in another tab of my browser, not because I anticipated this moment, but because I'm lazy. But lucky for us, I can show you all the responses that were on the page 7 or 8 hours ago before they decided to hide them.
When I last saw the original video, it had 1 "like" and 44 "dislikes." I'm not sure at what point it was pulled (but thanks to fellow Blogger Trix for catching it). The 15-second "short" version of the commercial is still up on the Tubes, but it doesn't look like it's getting many positive comments either.
I've owned a couple used Toyotas and really have nothing exceptionally negative to say about their vehicles (except for that one time my hood flew off the car for no apparent reason while driving 50 mph), but their attitude in this commercial is really pitiful. Shit like this is why economically disadvantaged kids get beat up and made fun of. Whether it be about sneakers, jeans, electronics, or this case, to suggest that a child should feel shame for what vehicle his family owns is incredibly irresponsible and downright mean. What's really shameful is that they are actually paying another child to spew this elitist propaganda and essentially bully you, and anyone else with a car that's not up to their standards.
Now I recognize this specific commercial, "Scatter," is part of a larger campaign where the focus is "Lame Parents," and in a larger context, you can see elements of that in this commercial, but as a stand-alone, it's not enough to distract from the loudest message--station wagon kid=lame, Toyota kid=lucky. Personally, I thought flannel was cool again these days, but what do I know? I know that I'm able to read between the lines of their advertisement, and since they have a 12-year old acting as their pitchman, I'm pretty sure children will be reading between them too.
In conclusion, fuck you big time Toyota, and fuck you too Saatchi & Saatchi for putting the "Lame" campaign together for them. I'm so happy to see the negative response these videos are getting on YouTube. It will be even better when they realize what assholes they are and pull the commercials from the air.
[update 2: ToyotaUSA put the video in "private" hours later. read more in my follow-up post.]
[update 3: In a blatant attempt for page traffic, I just wanted to add the words "complaint" "offensive" and "sucks" ;) ]
