The Story Behind Toyota UK's Manga Inspired Adventure

Date: 2014 November 25 17:01

Posted by Joe

Toyota UK have decided to do something a bit interesting with their Japanese roots. At the October 2014 MCM London Comic Toyota revealed a new manga styled adventure to launch their new Aygo.

Specially commissioned by UK based artist Sonia Leong to create the manga. Toyota also commissioned an animated version of the comic too.

We caught up with Nik Pearson (Manager, Press Relations) at Toyota to talk about the campaign. We were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview about the project.

Thanks again for your time Nik. It's always interesting to see how production of manga based marketing campaigns work.

Full Story

Interview as follows:

Why did you use manga to promote the latest Aygo?

The design of the New Aygo was completed by David Terai and Nobu Nakamura, both big fans of Manga. The original design thought behind New Aygo was 'Small but Powerful', inspired by the classic Manga character, Astro Boy.

Why did you pick a British based artist rather than Japanese talent for the artwork?

Using a British artist was important as we wanted it to feel like a UK project. When we met with Sonia, we knew that her talent and knowledge of the Manga style would add some real credibility to the project.

What was the working process like? How closely did Toyota work with Sonia Leong?

The team and I had an initial meeting with Sonia to give her some information on the car, and the thinking behind the design. Following this, Sonia had complete freedom to create the storyline and artwork.

Was she given a detailed brief? Did the manga evolve through a brainstorming sessions or through various draft stages or some other method of working?

No detailed brief was given to Sonia. We wanted her to have as much freedom as possible to interpret how Aygo would fit into a Manga context.