Toyota’s ‘Legendary Moments’ Puts AFL Fans Front and Centre

Toyota’s iconic ‘Legendary Moments’ campaign has returned via Gemba after a nine-year hiatus, spotlighting Heath Shaw’s infamous 2010 AFL Grand Final smother.

Marking the 22nd year of Toyota’s AFL partnership, the spot continues a tradition of celebrating historic football moments, including Tony Lockett’s 1,300th goal and Alex Jesaulenko’s famous mark.

Gemba executive creative director Boyd Hicklin emphasised the challenge of selecting a moment worthy of the campaign’s legacy, before ultimately settling on the 2010 smother.

Speaking to LBB, he explained how the revival, featuring comedians Matt Okine and Ryan Shelton, uses humour to stand out in the crowded auto market.

He also reveals why the ‘Hare vs Tortoise’ narrative of Heath Shaw’s smother presented a perfect opportunity to blend fan passion and playful storytelling.

LBB> What inspired the revival of the ‘Legendary Moments’ brand platform?

Boyd> Toyota challenged Gemba to bring more humour and fun into their sponsorship activation, with their biggest sponsorship platform being the AFL. For many years, much of our work has focused on community support and building brand trust through the ‘Toyota Good for Footy’ platform. This focus results in some lovely, meaningful campaigns, but with many brands leaning into purpose-driven messaging, it becomes a crowded space. Here was an opportunity to shift the tone and stand out in a different way.

Over the years, there had been conversations with Toyota about reviving the ‘Legendary Moments’ campaign, thinking about it almost like a franchise, a recognised brand asset.

Gemba supported Toyota in bringing the campaign back to life in 2014 to 2016, initially through a UGC-led consumer promotion, and then two very well-received Legendary ads, one featuring Michael Long and the other Leo Barry.

LBB> Heath Shaw is a huge get. What made the infamous smother stand out as an AFL legendary moment for this campaign?

Boyd> Finding the right moment is crucial, and with 14 AFL ‘Legendary Moments’ ads already in the can, you have to dig a little deeper. But we came up with a criterion of what makes a moment legendary, and Heath’s ‘Mother of all Smothers’ kept rising to the top. It has drama and comedy built in, a moment on the biggest stage, and some iconic commentary embedded in the collective imagination.

It is a Collingwood moment, which never hurts in the search for attention, plus Heath is a character in his own right. We also loved working with our new comedic hosts Matt Okine and Ryan Shelton. Together, all three had amazing energy and brought great comedy and passion to the campaign.

LBB> The two-minute version commits to a 'Hare vs Tortoise' narrative, as Heath sprints to the goal square while his opponent takes all the time in the world to take his kick. Will there be different edits or lengths for different platforms?

Boyd> Yes, the two-minute edit really delivers on the ‘saga’ of the hare and the tortoise. We worked closely with director Alex Roberts at Finch to craft this ridiculous narrative and create multiple comedy beats, as Heath runs and Ryan dawdles. From trimming bonsai, to taking a nap in a hammock, to knitting and origami, there is plenty of gold in there.

It means we have different cuts for different channels, with multiple durations from six seconds up. Socials have brought to life different beats, including behind-the-scenes material, but we have also leaned into content creators sharing their opinions and hot takes on legendary moments. That is the power of an existing campaign lore -- people get it and know how to play along.

LBB> What did the client brief look like on this one, and is the campaign mainly trying to strengthen the connection between the brand and the AFL?

Boyd> The brief was clear: bring the humour and strengthen Toyota’s connection as the Premier Partner of the AFL. It’s about demonstrating that while Toyota is, and always will be, Good for Footy, they also ‘get’ footy -- the banter and the passion -- from legends of the game right through to the community legends who represent the heart and soul of the sport.