I love the game of Life. I always have. I think the commercials are cute, and I like the way they stepped out from other car commercials. I have talked to quite a few people who brought it up because of the commercials. They are making people who might not normally look into a Prius, become interested. Isn't that what they are supposed to do?
You're right; it's way better than the infantile TV spots. However, the Game Of Life spot on the website is quite good, as are the Danica McKellar segments.
Yes, I get the humor of the US ad, but it's annoying and whiny. It's not really saying, "Be a winner," but rather, "This is the car for losers." Well, I like the car in SPITE of the ad. The Canadian ad is clever, with the Prius family driving through various pictures on the wall, changing like a chameleon to match the background. The Japanese ad isn't quite as good, but it does have the row of colored dominos falling above the cars as they cruise, as well as Blondie's catchy "Heart of Glass" playing.
Except that they're speaking Mandarin Chinese at the end, not Japanese. I'm guess that ad's intended for the Taiwanese market and not China. (My Mandarin is poor and I can't read Chinese worth beans.) Interesting that they're using a Blondie song... I do like it better than the US ad in question.
The commercial is fine. In fact Toyota rarely ever puts out offensive or negative ads. Their commercials are usually to mention a sale or redesign. The great car companies don't play dirty. (Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Lexus). These cars are good enough to hold their own, and their commercials show it. Then there are car companies that compare, mention, and/or put down other hybrids and car manufacturers like it's nobody's business, and I abhor them passionately. American manufacturers are probably most notorious like the Chrysler (which says "if you're gonna build a car with good mpg...). Some other guilty parties are Audi (showing Lex, BMW, and Mer drivers jumping onto the Audi truck), Infiniti (an immature snowball fight w/ a BMW owner), Hyundai (bragging that it's hybrid is "easy on the eyes"), Ford (side by side comparison of a civic and corolla) and the list goes on. BTW, did anyone see that Buick commercial with Shaq? "I have shoes bigger than most hybrids, and with more style too" Possibly the most offensive one yet. If you don't believe me, pay attention to which companies are saying what next time.
I must be going crazy. A few months ago I was watching tv and there was a commercial and a young woman was standing on the steps of somewhere and people were taking her picture as if she was a celeb. and asking her questions about her car. I would have sworn it was a prius c commercial because she was reacting to how inexpensive it was and she would still be able to afford...can't remember her what exactly she said. but I'm pretty sure after that commercial I looked up the Prius C on Toyota.com. Funny though, cause when I do a search for it, I can't find it on Youtube or anywhere else. When I was talking to my mother and told her I ordered the car. She knew what it looked like not because of commercials but because her reaction was. Oh, my sims drive one. My mother is addicted to The Sims computer game as if it were crack. In all honesty, I haven't seen a Prius C commercial in a really long time.