In terms of ads, every edition of the Super Bowl is a mixed bag of videos that try to tug at the heartstrings and commercials that place all the emphasis on fun. For the Super Bowl LVI, Toyota did both.
For the biggest sporting event in the world, for which ad-time runs in the millions for a few seconds, Toyota made sure to assemble a who’s-who cast for the Tundra ad. As you will see for yourself once you check out the full spot below, it did so without compromise on the fun factor – because what good is a Tundra if you’re not also having fun with it?
The ad is a spin of the famous phrase “keeping up with the Joneses,” which refers to comparisons to one’s neighbor(s) as a benchmark for social statute or the accumulation of material goods. Toyota puts a literal spin on it and brings a bunch of very famous Joneses, each of them trying to keep up with one another. There’s the always-miffed Tommy Lee Jones, the outgoing Leslie Jones, and the seemingly-nice-but-secretly-combative Rashida Jones, all crossing paths as they engage in an all-terrain race to see who’s worthy of the license plate they all wear: #1 Jones.
Because they’re all driving different versions of the all-new 2022 Tundra, they reach the destination at the same time. This is when a surprise guest makes a (surprise) appearance: Joe Jonas, whose involvement in the spot Toyota was able to keep under wraps until the last moment. He declares that the game has changed and that it’s “keeping up with the Joneses” now, which fails to get the reactions he was probably hoping for. Tommy Lee, with his scowl and half-muttered one-liners, says it best as they all take off again: “Try to keep up, whoever you are.”
Created by Saatchi & Saatchi, the ad was directed by Bryan Buckley, who also did this year’s BMW spot with Arnold Schwarzenneger and Salma Hayek as Zeus and Hera. It was shot over four days, two with the actors doing mostly improv work against green screens, and two with the four Tundras offroading with professional drivers, on a closed circuit.
“The all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra has been years in the making and you only get one chance to make a first impression,” Lisa Materazzo, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America, says in a statement to AdWeek. “It’s only fitting that we launch the all-new Tundra, our biggest U.S. campaign launch ever, alongside this caliber of star power on the world’s largest advertising stage.”
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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