H/L Agency - Oakland, CA
via @toyota_norcal on InstagramThe Real Payoff?
AJ Erenshey | ART DIRECTOR
Cat Hermansen | COPYWRITER
Sr AD: Zach Morrison | Sr CW: Deepak George
SOCIAL+
Sourdough Sam’s Car Show
Quick, high-energy vertical Reels with the iconic Sourdough Sam, designed to showcase the features of Toyota vehicles and deepen fan connection.
Toyota Social: Sourdough Sam
Idea:
Showcase the features of Toyota’s diverse lineup of vehicles through the animated hype of San Francisco’s favorite mascot — all while highlighting Toyota’s brand presence in and around Levi’s Stadium.
Create a series of short-form social videos, linking the iconic San Francisco 49ers Sourdough Sam with Toyota’s iconic lineup of vehicles. Highlight their reliability, performance, and the ongoing partnership between the two beloved brands.
Insight:
Being a gold miner is a demanding job. Being the face of the San Francisco 49ers is an even more demanding task that requires dependable and capable machinery to get the job done — Toyota provides the drive for both.
Sourdough Sam’s Gold Rush
What does Sam get up to while the team is away? Search for gold around Levi’s Stadium, of course. (***Gold Supras included***)
We created vignettes that serve as a fun piece of 49ers storytelling and Toyota brand promotion to be shown during commercial breaks while the team plays away games — cultivating engaging moments that resonate with fans online. This social deepened Toyota’s relevance with a key regional audience, characterizing both Sourdough Sam and Toyota as reliable, performance-driven, and Bay Area strong.
San Francisco’s Faithful showed up with real fan love, genuinely enthused by the fun storytelling and collaboration shown between their favorite mascot and some of Toyota’s finest vehicles decked out in the iconic Niners red and gold. This is the kind of cultural understanding and brand partnership that fans resonate with.
Brief: