Toyota wanted to introduce their “Beyond Zero” initiative, which is a push throughout the company to be carbon neutral by 2050. But also go ‘beyond’ that goal and push for a variety of other objectives in mobility. The brief wasn’t about going into all the specifics, which would be too much for a :45 second film, but to give an understanding of the overall spirit and vision of “Beyond Zero” for Toyota.

After an establishing shot of a city skyline, we see an urgent hand off of a baton, like those used in Olympic track and field races. But in this film, the baton is handed off between two who appear to be strangers. We continue to see others running in various global locations, some urban, some rural, wet food markets, suburban areas, warehouse districts, etc. All runners showing real purpose, while in many shots we see Toyota vehicles playing a role in peoples’ lives. Finally, we see a mother handing a baton to a young girl, who enthusiastically takes it and runs with it. We hear the VO say: We’re all in this race together; to pass on a planet everyone can be proud of. At the very end we see the Toyota and “Beyond Zero” logo lock-up.

While just launched, the impact has been growing. First shown at a number of auto shows, part of the needs was to emphasize that Toyota has been operating with a vision for the global environment for some time, and in a variety of ways. It is too early to gather results in terms of brand perception or changes in behavior, but we will see in the coming months just how impactful this freshly produced film will be for Toyota.