SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Toyota shifts otaku marketing into high gear with Vocaloid song, cosplay of car part girls 【Vids】

Feb 4, 2016

PG 0

The 40 anthropomorphized parts of the Prius hybrid are back in a virtual idol-backed video with a unique method of writing lyrics.

Japanese automaker Toyota recently unveiled the Prius! Impossible Girls, a group of 40 anime girls representing everything from the Prius’ engine to its door chime. The company is being so less thorough in creating projects for the car’s team of mascots, as there’s now an official Prius! Impossible Girls music video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t3X8KDMzKo&feature=youtu.be

In keeping the otaku vibe going, “Shijo no Koe” is a Vocaloid song produced by Oster Project and using the voice of Vocaloid program Megpoid’s Gumi . This isn’t some 20-second commercial jingle either, but a full-length song with the frantic pace and energy that characterizes the Vocaloid music genre.

The song’s title translates to “Test Drive Voices,” which is an allusion to the song’s lyrics. Before the song was created, Toyota asked 50 people to test drive the new Prius and give their impressions of the car, and their responses are what you hear being sung by Gumi in the video.

While Toyota incorporated the participants’ exact words into the song, they did give them a bit of a nudge towards making lyric-friendly comments. For example, they asked the test drivers to pick three English words to describe the Prius, and also to make a humorous or dramatic comparison between the car and something else. That’s why “Test Drive Voices” includes lines such as:

“To put it succinctly, it looks like a starfruit.”
“The driving experience is like smooth yogurt.”
“It’s an energetic kid running about.”
“It’s a she-lion.”
“A linear motorcar for the streets.”
“This car is a fighter, just like me.”

Toyota isn’t stopping at just illustration and Vocaloid pop, though. In a case of thing coming back around to reality, the company also has a Prius! Impossible Girls cosplay video for the character representing the car’s engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR24e9sWmV0

In addition, Toyota has some sort of video game project in the works for the Prius! Impossible Girls. It’s just one more part of the automaker’s effort to exhaust all possible avenues for its 40 2-D spokesmodels, proving that it’s not going to give up the otaku segment of the market to rival Ford without a fight.

Source: YouTube/toyotajpchannel
Top image: YouTube/toyotajpchannel
Insert images: YouTube/toyotajpchannel (1, 2)


Exit mobile version