Winnie Cooper, Bill Nye Guide Toyota Prius Buyers Through the Game of LIFE

By Bob Marshall 

From Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi LA comes a new YouTube campaign for the Prius c, a digital experience hailed by the agency as the “first and only YouTube-based car configurator to exist.”

Last month, Toyota debuted a TV spot comparing the game of life to, well, the board game LIFE, emphasizing how the Prius c’s fuel-efficiency helps young car buyers take their lives to the next level. Now, Toyota has debuted a new LIFE-themed YouTube channel, where celebs give young Gen Y-ers car-buying advice including how to balance one’s budget with a vehicle purchase, calculate MPG, and the tech advantages of the Prius. Making a cameo appearance in a video called “Wallet Wisdom” (above) is Danica McKeller, the limber mathematician best known for capturing the hearts of Gen Y with her role as “Winnie Cooper” on The Wonder Years.

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Also appearing to talk about the Prius c’s “Touch Tracer Display” is a man known to the world as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” who made learning an absolute kick-ass experience for 90s Saturday morning TV viewers. So, why all the celebs of yesteryear? Referring to the YouTube campaign, Saatchi LA says in a statement that “the core demographic for the Prius c is made up of city-dwelling professionals in their 20s and 30s who lead extremely busy lives. And although they don’t spend time checking into Foursquare to unlock deals or viewing long-format content from their phones, they are ‘social shoppers’; and often look for tools that help them easily share and collect opinions. Saatchi LA also found that the Gen-Y set, who are artistic and creative in nature, are turned off by the standard, clinical car configurations of today that feature stale drop-down menus, constant pricing per feature and standard 360 car spins.”

Aside from YouTube, the campaign will also be shared over “this generation’s favorites,” Google+, Twitter and Facebook. View the Prius c interactive YouTube page here.

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