Toyota

Toyota is a car manufacturer headquartered in Japan since 1937. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided computer-animated fish for a series of 1998 Toyota-sponsored interstitials and the Muppets appeared in a series of 2014 ad for the Toyota Highlander.

2014 Superbowl Toyota Highlander commercial

The Muppets appeared in a commercial for the Toyota Highlander with Terry Crews which aired during the 2014 Super Bowl (at 7:55 EST). On January 28, five days before "the big game," Kermit the Frog appeared on Good Morning America to debut the full ad; the ad was also released by Toyota on their YouTube channel later that day.

A teaser for the ad was published by USA Today on January 21, and Access Hollywood aired a couple of exclusive behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with Crews, Kermit the Frog, Floyd and Zoot the same day. Toyota released several Vine videos and Instagram videos featuring the Muppets to promote the ad and its slogan "no room for boring."

A music video for an extended version of the commercial's song "No Room for Boring" was released online on January 30.

Cast and Crew

Muppets (in order of appearance):

Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Sweetums, Animal, Dr. Teeth, Gonzo, Pepe the King Prawn, Janice, Camilla, chickens, Rowlf the Dog, singing vegetables, The Swedish Chef, Rizzo the Rat, and Kermit the Frog

Humans:

Terry Crews

Director:

Jody Hill

Other commercials

"That Game" Starring the Muppets 2014 Toyota Highlander

"That Game"

"Gridlock" Starring the Muppets

"Gridlock"

"Frenzy" starring the Muppets

"Frenzy"

"Saffron, Cayenne Pepper and the Road Home" starring the Muppets

"Saffron, Cayenne Pepper and the Road Home"

Toyota Highlander Surprise Starring the Muppets 2014 Toyota Highlander

"Surprise"

Toyota Highlander Unplugged Starring the Muppets 2014 Toyota Highlander

"Unplugged"

Extended music video

Teasers

Big Game Trailer starring The Muppets 2014 Toyota Highlander

Big Game Teaser feat. Terry Crews 2014 Toyota Highlander

Bloopers

Toyota Blooper Reel

Blooper reel

Toyota Blooper Honeydew and Beaker

Bunsen and Beaker

Toyota Blooper Boop

"Boop"

Road trip videos

The Muppets and Toyota Highlander Get Ice Cream Toyota

The Muppets and Toyota Highlander Get Ice Cream
February 24, 2014

The Muppets and Toyota Highlander Try to Get Gas

The Muppets and Toyota Highlander Try to Get Gas
March 8, 2014

The Muppets Run Out of Money in the Toyota Highlander Toyota

The Muppets Run Out of Money in the Toyota Highlander
March 8, 2014

The Muppets Fill Up the Toyota Highlander Before the Premiere Toyota

The Muppets Fill Up the Toyota Highlander Before the Premiere
March 10, 2014

Road Trip ads

In the days between the Super Bowl and the premiere of Muppets Most Wanted, Toyota posted photos of the Muppets on their "road trip" from the stadium to Hollywood on their Instagram account.

Day 1 - Stadium tailgate

Day 2 - Boston

Day 3 - New York City

Day 4 - Washington, DC

Day 5 - Blue Ridge Mountains

Day 6 - Nashville

Day 7 - Chicago

Day 8 - St. Louis

Day 10 - Roswell

Day 12 - Las Vegas

Other Instagram ads

In the months following the initial marketing push, Toyota's Instagram account posted several additional ads.

March 26, 2014

May 5, 2014

May 14, 2014

May 22, 2014

May 28, 2014

Behind the scenes

Print ads

Print ad in Entertainment Weekly - Feb 21, 2014

Web browser ad

A pop-up ad appeared on Yahoo.com during the week following the Superbowl. It featured two levels: one in which you had to shoot chickens from a cannon through the roof of the Toyota, and another where you launch Muppets from a catapult into the back of the car. [1]

ITV Movie Premiere interstitials

In 1998, Jim Henson's Creature Shop produced a series of 30 interstitials for Toyota that aired on ITV in the UK. The ads featured a pair of goldfish who act out famous scenes from various movies. This was used until 2000. The ads won a LEAF award in 1999 and were a winner at the Rushes SoHo Shorts Festival.

See also

• Super Bowl commercials