Toyota is merging anime and car culture to reintroduce itself to Gen Z. The brand is dropping a 10-minute anime film, Grip: A Toyota Movie, on Nov. 5 to cap its existing three-season U.S. series. In fact, viewers of the ad series asked for longer episodes, so Toyota built a short film that blends story with promo for their latest models. The series has pulled in millions of views already and delivered double-digit lifts in brand perception among hard-to-reach Gen Z and multicultural audiences. And as U.S. interest in anime keeps rising, especially with the never-slowing success of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, Toyota is truly tapped into what Gen Z wants. The plot centers around the AI debate, too: Grip argues AI can assist performance but cannot replace human driving. That stance, plus top partners like DR Movie, makes the brand feel authentic, not ad-like. (ADWEEK)
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