In Puerto Rico, Toyota is #1 and a brand that has been in the minds and hearts of consumers for years. But the perception that its vehicles are lagging behind in areas like safety technology (1 in 4) has been increasing over time.

Toyota has a solid top of mind awareness for reliability (42%) due to its vehicles' durability and quality. However, it falls behind its competition in areas like safety technology.

All Toyota vehicles come with Toyota Safety Sense: standard safety technology features that activate and assist drivers to prevent collisions and other incidents while driving.

We needed to:

-Increase awareness of Toyota Safety Sense by building on our reliability positioning.

-Strengthen technology and safety associations to the brand.

-Strengthen our status as the most trusted brand.

How could we make the most trusted brand in Puerto Rico even more trustworthy?

We invited driving students to “test” Toyota Safety Sense at our unique driving course where we would record their reactions. What nobody saw coming: it would be taught by a world renowned Puerto Rican artist. A BLIND world renowned Puerto Rican artist.

We sent them on their way through the driving track, where Toyota Safety Sense would alert with sounds and vibrations every time the driving apprentice made a mistake. Professor Feliciano relied on his instincts and on Toyota Safety Sense to correct his students and keep them safe, all in his colorful and funny way of speaking.

We documented everything and created branded content for various channels.

What better way of showing a car’s trustworthiness than having a blind guy rely on its safety technology to teach a teenager how to drive? We built on Toyota’s association with reliability and durability to also include safety.

“Lo hago a ojos cerrados” is a very common Puerto Rican expression that means “It’s so easy I can do it even with my eyes closed”.

We needed to create a lasting impression in our audiences, highlighting that Toyota Safety Sense is another reason for people to trust Toyota. By choosing a blind, fearless trailblazer as our frontman, we created content that not only entertained and put a smile on people’s faces, but drove our message home: Toyota’s safety technology is so reliable, anyone can trust the car is safe, even in the “hands” of a blind person.

We built a closed driving test course and invited young driving students to test Toyota Safety Sense with a free lesson. They arrived, one by one, and were introduced to their blind driving instructor. Shocked, amused, and sometimes scared, they all saw this as part of their required courses.

We documented each journey and developed short videos of their experience.

From October to December, 2023, we ran different versions of the experience on TV, Digital and Social platforms.

People couldn't believe their eyes. The shocking image of José Feliciano teaching students how to drive safely sparked the curiosity of millions of people. They shared the video and created memes. Social media personalities quickly jumped in the conversation, praising Toyota for such a bold move.

In a country of 2.9 million people, size 100 x 35 miles:

-The stunt was featured in the 5 of 6 main media platforms in the country (El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora, El Vocero, TeleOnce, Telemundo)

-2MM+ Total Views

-84% Total Reach

-8% CTR (industry benchmark is 4%)

-75 MM+ Impressions

-Brand Perception on safety and innovation increased by 29.7%

-Sentiment: 100% positive comments (That’s right! In a highly polarized country, EVERYONE was excited to see The First Blind Driving Instructor)