Instead of conventional ad campaigns, ATTIK conduc­ted street corner test drives, staged wild postings featuring graphics that looked like they were torn from video game screen­grabs and graphic novels, held art events inside an enor­mous square head that gallery goers walked into, and organ­ized late night events in abandoned warehouses, complete with bands, bever­ages and projected graphics. “Wild post­ings,” Needham says, “are all about content and place­ment. It adds credi­bility to be seen in the right places. It’s like launch­ing a band. You send out the coolest track first to appeal to taste­makers. Once they’re on board, you release the pop song for a mainstream audience. Same as Scion: You launch with credibility.”

In the early days, Needham remembers, the ATTIK events division ran fast and furious. “We supported 200 events a month at $5,000 per event. A small spend was a blessing in disguise, since it ensures you remain credible. Plastic cups, beer and a cool underground band made the events more real, more honest. It felt like David versus Goliath.”

Pursuit of a younger audience meant digital. And that means constant change. As Jacob Ford, creative director for digital in San Francisco’s ATTIK office, explains, “Scion wants us to explore the next new thing.” That means Scion was the first car company to launch in Second Life, the first to explore an augmented-reality driving game, one of the first car companies to film a 3-D ad that ran in movie the­aters to accompany Resident Evil, and soon to be one of the first to release an iAd for the iPad. That energy and change is perfect for Ford, who says, “We think digi­tally, and push the work into different media. Our goal is to extend ideas online so they fit cohesively with the brand. ATTIK has marketing goals. We want to do something cool.” In other words, a perfect fit.

BRAND SHIFT
Ten years after the initial Scion launch, Toyota’s relationship with ATTIK is still going strong. Over the decade ATTIK team members have created work that is as edgy, and polarizing as the cars themselves. As Peacock says, “ATTIK brings energy. They are not corporate. They are inherently credible. They aren’t there to glad hand and please. They are there to do good work.”

When it comes to the Scion and ATTIK relationship, Ron Lim, creative director at ATTIK, says simply, “You can’t imagine two more tightly overlapping concentric circles. The ATTIK voice aligns with the Scion voice. We’re a youth agency. And Scion is the youth brand of Toyota.”

Today, the Scion target market may not be hanging out in abandoned warehouses. But they are hanging out on Facebook and YouTube. “Our foray into social media execution really kicked into gear with the launch of the iQ,” Peacock says. “We wanted to take the brand in a new direction. We wanted to show the fun side of the car in a way that would play off the fact that the iQ is the world’s smallest four-seater.”

Lacking the budget for huge media buys, ATTIK made a number of low-budget videos for online only. This approach allows them to produce content quickly, then distribute them on YouTube and the Scion site as online vignettes.

One particular campaign called Donuts, features four bikini-clad women crammed into a Scion iQ doing donuts in
a parking lot and simultaneously attempting to eat donuts and drink milk. As they say, hilarity ensues. So does controversy. True to form, the donut spots delivered by ATTIK have polarized the advertising community. Called “sleazy” by MSN, one of “the year’s crassest ads” by Adweek, and “a porn shoot” by Adrants, the spots were picked up by Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid The Sun and featured on the Perez Hilton celebrity gossip site. As expected the ads went viral.

“We’ve taken a lot of heat,” Needham admits. Fortunately, that’s just fine with Scion. Peacock says, “As the marketing manager, I know what we want out of a campaign. We give ATTIK the brief and then let them go to their talent. We trust them.” At the end of the day, Peacock believes, “ATTIK is about substance over style. We go after a young audience. You have to be around young people who understand that mindset.”

Having spent ten years marketing to young adults, it’s a mindset ATTIK understands well. “The thing with girls in bikinis,” Needham laughs, “you put them in anything and you are going to be successful.”

Despite the Babes & Donuts video, Scion it seems has finally grown up, along with ATTIK, and its target audience. Maybe Scion got tired of having its shins kicked in the media. Maybe it just wanted a larger market share. Maybe it saw an opportunity to add a heart pumping, butt-kicking 200hp, rear-wheel drive sports coupe to its line up. For whatever reason, Scion went back to the drawing board, sharpened its pencils, and bent its French curve into a shape that actually resembles a car. The result is the Scion FR-S, a sculpted piece of muscular sheet metal that elicits a jaw-dropping “Whoa!” first impression. In 30 seconds of adrenaline pumping video directed by Needham, ATTIK created a spot that promises to do for Scion sales what Viagra does for men of a certain age.

As the Scion audience matures, Needham says, “The shift is on toward a more meaningful brand. We’re not as flippant or blasé and neither is our audience. These are tough economic times.” Scion has given its audience an “achievable” sports car. ATTIK has given them something to be excited about. CA