How Toyota Hilux fell victim to extreme care

Don’t look at the screenshot above! And please keep your children away from this news story. Because the moment they see a Toyota Hilux, they want to trample plants and pollute rivers.

At least, that’s what we think… Why else would Britain’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, put an end to Toyota’s Born to Roam campaign?

Toyota Hilux or Ten

After all, the accompanying video seems quite innocent to us, with about a dozen Toyota Hiluxes doing what they were made to do: off-roading, towing a trailer, and being the most wreck-resistant vehicle in the world.

But no, the commercial is too dangerous, according to the ASA. For our planet. With its “Born to Roam” campaign, Toyota ignores the impact SUVs have on nature and the environment, or so the story goes.

Anti-ad clubs

This is why the Toyota Hilux should be removed from TV, YouTube, Facebook and billboards. Something that the anti-advertising clubs Adfree Cities and Badvertising will be happy about.

Toyota is not giving up and is simply introducing a hydrogen-powered car again

And we have to be honest: they have a certain point of view. Off-road driving, with the wilderness in the background, regularly appears in SUV ads, the organizations say. It has become a cliché.

Such images are a “false promise,” they say, because 99.99 percent of SUVs never undertake an off-road adventure. “They destroy nature, pollute the air, clog our cities and cost lives.”

Toyota replied

Toyota responds by pointing to its role as a leader in hybrid vehicles and to the relatively low CO2 emissions of its delivery programme. Although, of course, this has nothing to do with Toyota Hilux.

This small Toyota car has become more expensive by 12 thousand euros in ten years!

The pickup is not for sale with hybrid technology. The global delivery program includes a number of large diesel engines, a 2.0-litre petrol engine and a 4.0-litre V6.

Africa and Australia

What the anti-advertising clubs forget is that the Toyota Hilux is more or less essential in many markets, such as Africa and Australia. This is due to difficult conditions and bad roads.

Let’s hope Toyota puts this electric Land Cruiser into production soon

Furthermore, it seems a bit unlikely to us that Toyota’s ad would encourage people to throw their weight around. Are SUVs harmful to the environment? Yes, but mainly on the road and not in nature.