ART DIRECTION + ILLUSTRATION
The Corolla Crusaders
The Brief: To promote their new Corolla, Toyota Hawaii hired me to create a team of local superheroes inspired by the features of the new vehicle. The heroes would be featured in social media marketing and also on a custom car wrap.
CHALLENGES
Use the features of the car to inspire the heroes and keep Toyota branding on the forefront.
SOLUTION
I designed the superhero team with members that represented different aspects of the new Corolla - such as Strength, Reliability and Innovation.
This first draft of heroes emphasized individuality, similar to the Spice Girls where each person had a unique look and feel to them, but the client requested a more unified front.
The Power of Branding
Keeping branding in mind, the heroes were re-dressed in Toyota’s iconic colors and given cool car-like details like a hub cap shield or mesh armor that looked like the car grill. The new armor not only reinforced branding, but pushed them further into looking like a cohesive team.
The Finished Wrapped Car
Rolling off the Page
Rolling off the Page
After the heroes were designed, I worked with the sign vendor to create a custom car wrap for the vehicle. My vision for the wrap was to have a comic book of their adventures splashed across it. Great care was taken to ensure the action of the panels accentuated car features and weren’t clipped.
Additional Marketing
To extend the branding and reach comic book fans, the newly wrapped car was showcased at Honolulu Comic Con. For the event, I created trading cards of each of the superhero team members that - when all the cards were collected -would form a giant image on the back.
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Collectible tote bags were also given to participants to carry around during the con, amplifying the exposure to the superhero team.
