Toyota Adopts a New ‘Everyday’ Slogan

Toyota Motor Sales USA is ditching its 7-year-old “I Love What You Do for Me” slogan and adopting a new advertising theme: “Toyota Everyday.” Analysts said the advertising changes come as Toyota undergoes an internal reexamination of how it markets and sells cars. “Toyota Everyday” brand spots use a montage of images reminiscent of Nike commercials, with people playing basketball, jogging and skipping rope. Actors recite personal resolutions: spending more time with children, listening to one’s heart. Music used in the commercials is the soul-pop classic “Everyday People,” popularized in the 1970s by Sly and the Family Stone--making Toyota the latest advertiser to use nostalgia to reach consumers. Representatives of the Torrance-based unit of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and its agency, Saatchi & Saatchi Pacific, weren’t available to comment. In a news release, Toyota said the new theme is intended to remind consumers that Toyota is there for them every day. Analysts said Toyota’s previous advertising was successful. Sales are up 8% through August, compared with an average 6.4% increase for Asian car makers and a 2.3% decline for the Big Three U.S. auto makers. Toyota didn’t put a price tag on the new campaign. It spent about $380 million on car and truck advertising in 1996.