Cannes Lions

Rav4 Hybrid Climbing Spectacular

SAATCHI & SAATCHI LA, Los Angeles / TOYOTA / 2016

Case Film
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Demo Film

Overview

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Credits

Overview

Description

We wanted to truly demonstrate the unique intersection between a no-compromise vehicle and a desire for spontaneous adventure, by building New York’s first climbable billboard in the heart of Times Square.

Our campaign idea, “How Far Will You Take It”, encourages people to challenge boundaries and push their limits. We decided to do something that has never been done before – enable a rock climbing experience in the middle of an urban landscape.

Rising over 100 feet and spanning more than 1,100 square feet, this billboard confronted commuters with both a challenge and inspiration to seek new boundaries.

For three days, professional climbers scaled the wall up above the traffic of Times Square. The event culminated with a novice climber completing her first successful climb.

Execution

From the time the project was bought by the client, to the time it took to create, produce, and execute the project was 2.5 months. It took 2,400 hours to build, and 8 days to install, the 6,000 lb, 1112 sq ft. wall.

We transformed two billboards at 47th and 7th in Times Square into a custom fabricated 3D rock wall. The surface was covered with a realistic depiction of a cliff face and rose over 120 feet high and spanned more than 1,100 square feet.

We teamed with structural engineers and professional climbers, and according to their specifications, attached a series of 3D extrusions, protuberances and handholds to this large surface area, to create this interactive professional grade rock wall climb.

Over the course of three days, our expert and novice climbers completed 116 climbs and achieved our main goal of the activation - spontaneous adventure and awareness.

Outcome

Nearly three-quarters of a million people viewed the climbers in the three days they scaled the wall in Times Square. With an Instagram influencer campaign, utilizing four of New York City’s top social influencers, we were able to create awareness and conversation with 4-million impressions.

The event was well-received in press outlets as well, earning nearly 8 million impressions (among numerous others), an Adweek article, and in a recent interview with Automotive News, Jack Hollis, Toyota’s GVP of Marketing, noted that even his expectations were exceeded in the scale and execution of the billboard.

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