‘Toyota Territory’ Article By Peter Barnes.
I had an advertising and marketing consultancy back in the 1990s, called Revelation Productions, and one of my clients was the Peter Kittle Motor Company. I got to create and produce a new advertising image for Peter Kittle, called ‘It’s Our Territory’. I also designed a new logo featuring a star for the motor company. At the same time, I did a remake of the ‘Toyota Territory’ TV ad, which was first created and produced in 1987 by an advertising agency I managed in Darwin.
The video featured in this article is the remake (1997) of the original ‘Toyota Territory’ TV ad in 1987.
The advertising agency in Darwin was MDA Barr Woollard Cawrse NT (later becoming Mattingly Woollard Cawrse NT). I got to present the original ‘Toyota Territory’ TV ad to senior Toyota executives at Taren Point in Sydney in late 1987, and if the presentation was successful, an affiliated advertising agency, Mojo-MDA, would get to present for the Toyota advertising account nationally.
The presentation to the Toyota executives was a very significant experience, as the senior Mojo-MDA executive at that time told me my presentation to the Toyota executives would be crucial for Mojo-MDA getting to pitch for the Toyota account nationally.
The presentation was successful and Mojo-MDA went onto picking up a large chunk of the Toyota advertising business. In the history of advertising in Australia, this was a significant achievement. At that time Taren Point was the national sales and marketing headquarters of Toyota in Australia.
I had flown in from Darwin the previous night and was staying at a hotel in Sydney. The next morning I got a taxi to go to the Taren Point meeting. The taxi driver got a bit lost going there and I only arrived at Toyota headquarters with just minutes to spare for the meeting in the boardroom. I had to get my act together real quick with no time to relax.
At the meeting, there were senior Toyota executives, such as John Conomos and Bob Miller, to name two. One must remember that Saatchi & Saatchi held the Toyota advertising account in Australia at that time and what the heck is this advertising guy from a different advertising agency in the Northern Territory doing making a Toyota ad.
I also remember that the Toyota executives in Darwin had a lot riding on my presentation, as well as the advertising agency I managed in Darwin. If I failed in the presentation, it would have reflected badly on senior Toyota executives in Darwin. My agency would have lost a lot of money, as we wouldn’t have been paid for a very expensive TV commercial shot throughout the Territory.
I would have to say it was my best presentation, as I quickly recovered from nearly missing the appointed presentation time and I answered all of the questions thrown at me with confidence. I believed strongly in the ‘Toyota Territory’ TV commercial and this obviously came across, as at the end of the presentation, John Conomos approved the TV ad and was very complimentary to me.
After the presentation, I was relieved for the advertising agency I represented in Darwin, as my failure in the boardroom would have meant significant financial loss to the agency, and obviously, the loss of the Toyota account in the Territory. The Toyota executives in Darwin were happy, because they got a great Toyota ad campaign, and my success in the Toyota boardroom at Taren Point, meant they had made the right decision in going with the advertising agency I managed.
Of course, Mojo-MDA were extremely happy and very complimentary to me, as it opened the door for them to go after the Toyota advertising business in Australia.
I should also point out, that the advertising agency I managed at that time became the most successful in the Northern Territory and held the prime business and government advertising accounts in the Territory.
When I was appointed Manager of MDA Barr Woollard Cawrse NT by the board of the agency in early 1987, the advertising agency was on its knees, but within 12 months, under my management and creative direction, it became very successful and dominated the Territory as an advertising agency.
Interestingly, not only did I pick up the Peter Kittle Motor Company in the 1990s and redo the ‘Toyota Territory’ TV ad, I also got to work with Harris Scarfe through my consultancy as it expanded its operations.
Watching John Martin’s, the once great South Australian department store, slowly die as a business, and Harris Scarfe expand, was unreal. I worked on the John Martin’s advertising account with Ogilvy & Mather in the mid 1980s, and later with Young & Rubicam Retail towards the end of 1980s. John Martin’s finally closed it doors in March 1998.
