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The Story of Toni & Toyota

Abby Vitello

22 February 2019

The Story of Toyota and Toni: Working Together for One Goal

In the 2019 Super Bowl, many ads were presented to a mass of people across the country, presenting many different products, stories & shows. Although many of the companies producing these ads had a cautious approach in regards to controversial subjects, some still provided the audience with a deeper meaning than what is shown. With the current events in the United States being mostly centered around race, immigration and Women’s rights, Toyota goes above and beyond to portray the gender and race issues throughout America in a subtle yet informative commercial about an aspiring athlete.  Amongst all the glamorous, celebrity packed commercials, a few companies honed in on “hometown heroes” stories. In midst of all these other commercials, Toyota implemented the hometown feels for their new RAV4 Hybrid. [1] While some may associate cars brand with mostly males, Toyota includes people of all genders, ages, and races in their latest commercial. This not only eliminates the idea that men are typically more worried about their cars, but also that cars can empower women. Toyota’s goal of this commercial is to diminish most of the gender stereotypes by revealing the way society views women of color, women in sports, and lastly how women carry themselves tells the story of who they are. While there are many races represented in the professional sport field, some of them are held to a higher standard than the rest and have a harder time showing they are just as successful as the rest.

As the commercial opens up, a young black women is shown loading sports gear and getting in the brand new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Scenes of the car driving flash by while scenes of Antoinette “Toni” Harris are played as well. In the scenes of her being a women and the athlete she has always aspired to be, she is seen wearing black and grey, baggy clothing. As she is a little girl in the neighborhood and a regular high school girl, she is shown in tighter, colorful clothing. The narrator begins to list off all the things people said about Harris, such as “she was told she was too little, too slow, too weak.” Harris was perfect for this advertisement because, just like the car, she is aiming to prove everyone wrong and show just how strong she is and how the hybrid car does not have to be a “weak” car. The car is shown basically overcoming these by speeding up a hill and being a bigger model of a hybrid. Both of these ideas, Harris and Toyota are meshed together in one commercial to prove a point of two “underdogs” coming together and making a brand new self, which is an improved version.  In a sense, they are comparing the stereotypes of  Harris to the ones said about Toyota as a brand itself.  Based on the commercial, both of them are defying the assumptions made on what they think women should say and do versus how a car should look and the functions of that car. Harris is seen getting a spot on the football team as a position other than a kicker and getting a football scholarship, all of which have not been done by women in past years. Along with making history in collegiate sports, Harris is able to spread her message on a large scale. Toyota is basically comparing the message of perseverance of an athlete to the perseverance of the car brand. Although  Toyota is not viewed as a “luxury” car brand, it brings a lot more to the table than most people think, which is similar to Harris’ athletic ability. By doing this, Toyota is alleviating stereotypes through Harris when she is seen driving their car, people will realize that not all car brands target men in their advertisements.  

In a deeper meaning of this commercial, Toyota is challenging the stereotypes of race and gender. Women typically not taken seriously when it comes to being athletes because some think that women are weaker and not capable of taking the same amount of physical exhaustion it requires to play sports. Although most women are genetically built smaller than men, they are still able to do the same things as men are doing in sports and everything else in life. As the young girls begin to grow up, the division between what things girls can do and what boys can do is very different. When boys are given toys or sporting equipment, it is usually monsters, trucks, legos and things that require building are more “masculine.” That being said, the way she is dressed when being portrayed as manly, or as “one of the boys”, she is dressed in the baggy clothes. This hints to the idea that even as a woman she is able to do what men are capable of doing too.  On the other hand, girls are given dolls, makeup and sparkly stuff that embraces the femininity of each toy. When is she is shown as a little girl, she is shown in both girly, tight clothing and football/workout attire. With such a contrast versus male and female clothing patterns, this is alluding to the idea of ending the stereotypes. In the still photo provided, Harris is seen with a black hoodie sweatshirt on and in a dress and heels, which conveys their ultimate goal of showing her as a strong female, just as the Hybrid does that can do both; be a trailblazing force and an empowerment of females. From an early age, they get this idea that boys have their likes and girls have theirs and they are not to mingle with each standard. When it comes to sports, girls and boys play similar sports except when it comes to football. This creates another barrier for girls while trying to coexist in a world with gender roles. Harris, in this commercial, is going against what everyone says against girls and sports. With the boys in the ad picking on her, it exemplifies how with a strong mindset, any girl or even women can get through the gender roles set by society. By using Harris in a mass audience, Toyota is assisting in breaking down the differences in genders. This is done by supporting the claim that Harris, being the first female professional football player, is comparable to what some people may consider to be a “girl” brand of car. Both defy the standards create a competitive environment.

The next component that Toyota uses to spread a deeper message in this years Super Bowl ad is the race of  Harris. She is shown being picked on by the other boys and then the next scene is her adding black face paint to her cheeks. At this moment in the commercial, Harris begins to work even harder to compete with the standards of the society. Often in today’s world African-Americans are misrepresented due to the way the media is portraying them to the rest of the masses. In this Toyota ad, Harris is pushed to overcome both her gender and skin color stereotypes. The underlying message in regards to race is that no matter what anyone says or tries to make another person do or not do, a strong, independent women will not back down. If anything, the doubts of others motivates them to do better and to prove the people wrong. African-American girls have to go through obstacles everyday and in a lot of activities they do throughout their lives. All the stereotypes she was held to throughout her life, she found a way to challenge them, whether it be working out more, practicing harder than the rest or in this case, driving a Toyota. Toward the end of the commercial, the narrator says “shattering perceptions.” With saying this, the audience can tie together the main argument of the ad and the story behind the car and commercial. By using a young, black girl, Toyota is raising the bar for other companies as to who they use to represent their company. Harris worked harder than any other athlete who was trying to go professional or even to the next level because she had to get through her gender barrier and overcome any ideas that others may have had because of her skin color.

Overall, Toyota’s 2019 RAV4 Hybrid commercial truly exemplified what the company stands for while promoting a new car. By telling her story, viewers are able to also see how just one girl with a dream can impact more than just the people around her. She was able to overcome most things people would not even try to do. According to the commercial, Toyota is “Built for Speed” which connects the criticism for Harris’ ability to continue her football career, to the car. Toyota is spreading a message of perseverance in a generation where when it gets tough, most just give up. Harris teamed up with Toyota to erase any ideas that society has pushed upon the group advertised by spreading her positivity and her perseverance in a world where everyone and everything is so heavily criticised. With so many different opinions on women in sports, Toyota nicely advertises their values a company and informs the public of their latest model in cars.

Toyota. “Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Super Bowl 2019 TV Commercial, ‘Toni’ Featuring Antoinette Harris.” Ispot.tv. 2019. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IS18/toyota-rav4-hybrid-super-bowl-2019-toni-featuring-antoinette-harris-t1#.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IS18/toyota-rav4-hybrid-super-bowl-2019-toni-featuring-antoinette-harris-t1#