We're three months into 2016, and it might be the year advertisers redefined the billboard.
We've already seen obnoxious, stupid yet fun billboards that play with the form in delightful ways. And last week, Toyota joined the list of major brands shaking up out-of-home with a scalable rock wall it erected right in the middle of Times Square.
The execution—a climbing wall on a billboard—created by Saatchi & Saatchi in Los Angeles, is not only the first of its kind in Times Square but also the tallest outdoor climbing wall ever built in New York City.
Last Wednesday, the automaker tapped novice climber Christina Fate, who serves as a rally car navigator for Team Toyota, to make the 120-foot vertical climb. The 6,000-pound wall took pro-climbers 10-15 minutes to vanquish; Fate did it in roughly 25 minutes.
Check out the video above, in which Adweek caught up with Fate, as well as Saatchi's Erich Funke and Toyota's Jack Hollis, to see what rock climbing has to do with Toyota, and why the brand would want to put on an activation of this scale.
CREDITS
Client: Toyota Motor Sales USA
Project: RAV4 Times Square Live-Climb Event
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Jason Schragger
Executive Creative Director: Fabio Costa
Creative Director: Erich Funke
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Vidur Raswant
Executive Director, Integrated Production: Lalita Koehler
Director of Content: Sara Seibert
Experiential Executive Producer: Blake Wassenaar
Content Executive Producer: Richard Bendetti
Senior Art Producer: Skye Houghton
Senior Producer: Rachel Dallas-Noble
Director of Business Affairs: Keli Christy
Business Affairs Manager: K.K. Davis
Senior Project Manager: Nick Zappas
Group Account Director: Drew Corpman
Account Management Supervisor: Chris Crockett
Account Executive: Celia Nissen
Assistant Account Executive: Valerie Purdy
Social Media Engagement Manager: Allie Burrow
Director of Public Relations: Mike Cooperman
Associate Communications Director, Social: Karen Ram
Associate Media Director: Kim Serge
Media Strategist: Talia Didomenica
Senior Strategic Planner: April Ta
Social Strategy: Ashton Dunn
Executive Communications Director, Product Information Supervisor: Joe Rigonan
Client:
Group Vice President, Toyota Marketing: Jack Hollis
Vice President, Vehicle Marketing, Communications: Cooper Erickson
Corporate Manager, Vehicle Marketing, Communications: Thomas Crahan
National Manager, Van, Crossover Utility Vehicles: Kibo Kitahama
Manager, RAV4 Hybrid: Alex Du
Planners, RAV4 Hybrid: Kay Sanchez, Jayme Lawson, Ash Hack
Production Company: Process Creative
Producer: Marshall McLaughlin
Directors: Tom Aiello, Daniel Chesnut
Editing Company: Process Creative
Producer: Marshall McLaughlin
Editor: Josh Hamilton
