TOYOTA TUNDRA / REGIONAL COMMERCIAL ACTIVATION
REAL GRIT. UNCOMPROMISING UPTIME. To break deep-seated regional bias against a domestic transplant vehicle in Colorado, we didn’t play defense—we met it head-on. We came up with Get to Work. While traditional automotive marketing retreats into safe, sterile lifestyle setups, we conceptualized this foundational line to lean directly into the raw, demanding, yet nurturing reality of true ranch culture, proving this truck could out-cowboy any domestic rival. A rancher's livelihood requires a profound respect for the land and a fierce duty to protect their livestock, their crew, and their tools. By capturing the Tundra in these intimate, demanding environments, we proved that this Texas-built machine isn’t an outsider—it is a relentless companion engineered to handle the long haul and carry the heavy weight of those who care for the country.
DIGITAL INTEGRATION:
BUILDING THE COALITIONOur traditional broadcast schedule didn’t originally include social extensions, as rapid 3-second micro-content was still an emerging format. To stay ahead of the curve, our team frequented Facebook HQ in NYC for direct briefings on emerging platform best practices. Drawing on my years as a digital frontiersman launching capabilities with a small, entrepreneurial team at Saatchi X, I knew firsthand that collaboration is the engine of digital innovation. I proactively sought out partnerships with forward-thinking, younger digital strategists within the office—manually bridging departmental silos to foster a modern, digitally native presence where an established process didn't yet exist. By building these cross-functional alliances early, I meticulously mapped out our social tactics and pitched a workflow so thoroughly prepared that it made granting permission seamless for management. Operating without an active digital team on set, I maximized our tight timeline to execute these platform insights, expanding our storytelling directly into the palm of the consumer's hand.
more cowboy than you
To capture true Colorado rancher capability, we put the Tundra through actual jobsite environments, informed directly by my own muscle memory. Having spent my youth working in agricultural warehouses—loading hundreds of bales of hay in the hot sun, lifting lime bags that dried out your skin, and pinching my fingers on heavy metal T-posts—I directed these shots from the gut. I jumped right into the truck bed to direct the talent, physically acting out how a working cowboy carries himself—hoisting the straw bales and slamming the heavy tailgate to capture the raw weight of the movement. We pushed the setups until every frame was flawless, right down to the sharp silhouette of his cowboy hat shadowed against the door, proving that this machine is a relentless companion engineered to carry the heavy weight of those who care for the country.
GROWTH VS. GRANT: THE HERITAGE CUT
THE :15 HERITAGE SPOT: To target the deep-seated emotional values of the Colorado agricultural community, we developed a distinct, high-impact 15-second script centered on the concept of legacy. This cut strips away conventional automotive sales metrics to look at what is hard-grown versus what is simply granted. By juxtaposing the Tundra's physical towing strength directly against the unbridled velocity of a charging herd, the spot builds an intentional visual metaphor for the intergenerational endurance required to manage the land.
Every frame of this campaign was informed by my own life experience. Growing up working in agricultural warehouses like Agway and Southern States—loading hundreds of bales of hay in the hot sun, lifting lime bags that dried out your skin, and pinching my fingers on heavy metal T-posts—instilled in me a deep respect for hard labor. We put the truck through actual jobsite hell because I know firsthand what real rancher utility requires. This photo was taken right after we wrapped a grueling, dusty single-day ambitious shoot across brutal ranch terrain—sunburnt, completely exhausted, and wearing the rancher's own hats.
CREATIVE DIRECTON: Vincent Straszewski
CHANNELS: Regional Broadcast TV, Localized Video Banner OLA, Mobile Social Extensions.
THE DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY: BRED TO WORK
