Connecting Toyota to the Youth with a Retro Racing Game

To engage a young and multicultural audience with Toyota, Oakland-based creative agency H/L developed an interactive video game that drives them down the purchase pathway.

Titled ‘Toyota Test Track Cruise CTRL’, the 8-bit racing game showcases some of Toyota’s models and encourages the youth to connect with the Toyota Brand - as well as share their highscores on social media. H/L worked not just on the creative and strategy for the campaign, but also the video production, media buying, the landing website and more.

To go behind the scenes of how the game was brought to life, LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with H/L’s associate creative director Will Hammack, senior copywriter Jenice Tupolo, and senior art director Zach Morrison.

LBB> Where did the racing game idea come from? Have you produced games before? 

Will> We’ve been creating game-like videos for quite some time to great success, and making a real game felt like a natural evolution of our content. We always strive to push our creativity to the next level in every iteration and, whenever possible, ‘do it for real’. H/L has made several games in the past and we leaned on our experience with gaming to elevate this one to a new level. 

Jenice> I think this level of video game-making definitely pushed the agency more than previous projects because of the duration and collaboration we had across almost every department.

LBB> What are some of the games that inspired this one? What features do you think make the best/most replayable games?

Jenice> We were pulling inspo from things like ‘Gran Turismo’ and ‘Need for Speed’ - and even GTA. But more than anything, we wanted the gameplay to be easy; something like a ‘Temple Run’ kind of vibe. It’s crazy that we got a Toyota video game before ‘GTA 6’.

Will> We might even get Test Track 2 before ‘GTA 6’… (spoilers).

LBB> How does the campaign specifically engage with the youth target audience?

Jenice> We specifically targeted a youth audience by placing our ads in places we knew their eyes would be: Twitch and YouTube. Our strategy team was also a huge source of inspiration for the game when they brought us a ton of info on the impact of nostalgia and video games. This whole project kinda felt like pieces falling into the place. 

LBB> What goes into a game development cycle versus a more traditional ad? How long was the process in total? 

Will> The game development process wasn’t all that different from what we’re used to doing on our integrated campaigns. There's lots of collaboration, ideating, and throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Eventually, you create something really amazing, and you test it over and over until it’s just right. The biggest difference is the time it takes to complete. Shooting a commercial from pre to post usually takes around a couple of weeks, but games can take several months. We collaborated with the incredibly talented team at 14Four. They not only partnered with us on the process but brought their own unique flare to the game that we loved. 

LBB> The landing page and social designs also have that wonderfully retro pixel art style - who were the artists behind that? What are some of your favorite design elements from the project?

Zach> Our production partner 14Four, created all of the game art based on 8-bit reference art Will and I created. We worked closely with them, frame by frame, to develop the look and feel of the entire game experience. Will and I handled the art direction and design of all the supporting assets; adapting stills and cinematics from the game into a fully integrated campaign including OLV, digital and social.

My favourite design elements are the Easter eggs we hid throughout the various maps. For example, on our ski map, when you get to higher elevations, there is a sign for Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort – one of our long-time partners.

Will> My favourite element in the game is definitely the unlockable Supra. We hid it behind a silhouette like you would see in old fighting games with unlockable characters. As soon as we added it, the team NEEDED to unlock it as soon as possible. How can you have a racing game without an unlockable Supra?

Jenice> I think the best element of the game has to be the name: Toyota Test Track Cruise CTRL. As the writer in the room, I think the name goes kinda hard. 

LBB> The 8-bit music also ties the game together – are these custom tracks or library tracks?

Zach> We used library tracks for this. We wanted to give players a lot of room for customisation throughout the game, and allowing them to pick their own radio station while driving was a detail that felt natural. We decided on the genres we wanted to include and then did a deep dive to pick an 8-bit version of each. 

Will> We had actually been listening to 8-bit covers of popular songs and knew we needed that iconic 8-bit sound to bring this to life.

LBB> What are the keys to converting players into purchasers?

Will> Obviously, we wanted to design the game to be fun and replayable but also drive users further down the purchase funnel. One strategy around that was where the game was placed. We used it as a hero section on a custom website, all designed in an 8-bit splendor, where users could learn more about the vehicles and find a dealer.

LBB> Why did you choose the NorCal setting, and the outdoorsy/sporty elements? Was that something that came from research or insights about the audience?

Zach> At H/L, localisation is a huge part of what we do for our clients. It’s kind of our superpower. We want everything that we create to feel authentic to the markets we show up in. Northern California has some of, if not the best, recreation in the country. People who live out here have an adventurous spirit, and we really just tapped into the activities that Northern Californians do every weekend. 

Will> And yes, this kind of thinking adds tons of value to our clients, but more than anything, it just feels real.

Jenice> Totally. Zach and Will hit it on the head. Across all of our work, we’re always looking for local nuances and ways for the people who are seeing our work to feel represented in the work. It’s not about shouting, ‘Hey buy this thing!’, it’s about making a genuine connection.

LBB> What was the hardest challenge you overcame on this project? And equally, what gave you the most fulfillment?

Jenice> Probably the time. It was the most long-term project I think any of us have had to work on. We kicked off this project sometime last fall and we’re just getting it out the door now, and summer’s basically here. The most fulfilling part of this whole thing was how it came together in the end. Pretty much every day I get to make cool shit with these amazing people. And this right here is probably the coolest thing we’ve made together. 

Zach> I agree with Jenice. After a long production process, it’s crazy to finally see an ambitious ‘what if’ idea actually out there existing in the real world.