Promoting the Toyota Corolla through great British art
The recent Toyota Corolla Art Project was a fitting milestone to PRN’s 10 years of providing lifestyle PR support for Toyota and Lexus.
Fish and chips, biscuits, picnics, high streets and car boot sales all featured in a series of artworks produced to celebrate the Toyota Corolla as a Great British icon and the world’s favourite passenger car, in a campaign devised and managed by PRN Associate, Annabel Hillary.
A number of artists with strong social media profiles were commissioned to produce works celebrating the enduringly popular Corolla hybrid – a car that is made in Britain (at Toyota’s Burnaston factory) and loved by people from all walks of life. Worldwide, more than 50 million have been sold across seven decades. The initiative amplified the latest Corolla ad campaign which took a humorous look at the diverse lives of Corolla owners.
The artists developed a range of themes using different media, giving their imagination free rein. The project also included a Corolla Art Competition for students at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), close to Toyota’s UK head office in Surrey. A vote run through internal comms to Toyota GB’s team of 300 produced a shortlist of 10 artworks. One overall winner and four highly commended works were then decided by a judging panel from Toyota and UCA.
The Corolla artworks were displayed at Toyota (GB)’s headquarters and are currently on display at the Toyota factory at Burnaston in Derbyshire.
A series of national and regional press features illustrated by photography of the artworks and interviews with the artists, were distributed to art, design and lifestyle media which resulted in 25 articles across national and regional media including MSN, Female First and .Cent magazine, with a total reach of almost 4 million. The assets were also posted on Toyota’s social channels and intranet.
The Corolla Artworks
Car Boot Scene by Jane Smith from Sheffield
Jane Smith’s artwork features the traditional British car boot sale, populated with Corolla hatchbacks. She commented: “I think it’s important to show that cars are a useful part of life, not just about getting from A to B. Who doesn’t love a British car boot sale! They are great for shifting unwanted stuff, helping the planet through recycling, getting out and meeting people.”
Corolla 5 Million by Mr Doodleey from Preston
Prem Sanker Sasidharan, aka, Mr Doodleey from Preston, Lancashire, took his inspiration from the phrase ‘British tapestry’. Hence his doodle artwork features icons of British life such as a cup of tea, fish and chips, a football, a phone box and the London Eye, erupting from a Corolla. He also references different types of Corolla owner and Toyota-themed elements.
He said: “I started with the ‘5 million’ as it’s such a milestone, then freestyled my doodles from there. It’s great that companies like Toyota can provide opportunities for artists like me who don’t have much of a profile yet. Art helps people look at a company and its products in a different light.”
Where you go, I go, by BeauBottletops – Jessie Marie from Brighton
The inspiration for Jessie Marie’s piece was ‘something for everyone’. Believing strongly in diversity, her artwork depicts people from different backgrounds, incomes and locations. There are 660 bottle tops layered on the canvas, each recycled from Brighton beach. Marie sees her work as being like a universe, with each bottle top its own world. She cut out pieces of vintage road maps to stick as a base inside each bottle top, representing Great Britain and included multimedia items such as buttons and miniature figures to represent people from all walks of life. A collage flows from the Corollas, incorporating elements that represent Toyota’s global reach.
Marie said: “Sustainability was a big part of this piece. Everything has been repurposed for an organisation that is conscious about its sustainable impact”.
Winning UCA Student entry by Lie Louie Walters
Lie Louie Walters, a 21-year-old UCA BA (Hons) Fine Art student from Alton, Hampshire, began his piece with a digital collage of quintessentially British imagery. This was then translated into a painting using Procreate, resulting in a cinematic composition that captures a personal moment between the viewer and their dining table.
Walters commented: “I was inspired by everyday British experiences, accessible to anyone. We’ve all at some point hoped for biscuits and been greeted by a sewing kit. I chose two specific Corolla colours - green and red - which are traditionally associated with Christmas. Once paired with the comforting glow, I hoped to capture warmth, curating a scene as if the viewer has received a sneakily hidden gift - the keys to a Corolla.