Scion Releases Two New TV Ads for iM and iA and They're a Lot More Fun than the Cars

As the name suggests, the ads are indeed a little out of the ordinary, which does beg the question "who were these commercials developed for?"

Well, if we're to judge from the first one, the target audience is the huge fanbase of the popular Twilight saga. Indeed, the iM spot features a "teenage vampire sporting a man-bun" who just happens to look like Robert Pattison. Then again, any clean shaved youngster with dark hair, pale-blue skin and long canines would resemble the star of the endless series of movies.

The thing Scion deserves credit for - and, more to the point, the advertising agency - is the way the car's features have been implemented in the short story. Stuff like the iM's (Toyota Auris in other parts of the world) dual-zone climate control, the heated mirrors or the excellent fuel efficiency get highlighted as our undead driver makes his way through the night, gazing in anticipation at the warm-blooded man he picked up using a ride-sharing app.

The iA (a rebadged Mazda2 Sedan) ad doesn't get any supernatural beings. It doesn't really get any types of beings whatsoever, as the main protagonists - besides the car, of course - are some cardboard cutouts of stock pictures of businessmen. Weird, right?

The whole campaign circles around the idea that normal things the Scion models offer as standard are viewed as weird by customers who are used to being charged for them by other manufacturers. In the case of the iA, those features include a start button, 16-inch alloy wheels or a reverse camera.

They're not the kind of ads that will make you laugh out loud, but they're clever and very well executed, so they're worth one minute of your time.