Toyota Takes Square Aim at PSA Group with Superbowl Commercial

Toyota has invested heavily in marketing their mobility app MobilityForAll.com in a one-minute long commercial airing in Superbowl VIII later today.

In the upcoming championship football game between the two-time defending American Football Conference champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference champion Los Angeles Rams, the Toyota ad profiles the life of 8x Paralympic Gold Medalist Lauren Woolstencroft in a commercial they call “Good Odds”.

The only dialogue in the entire commercial is at the end where Lauren simply says in voice-over, “When we’re free to move anything is possible.” “Free 2 Move” is the name of PSA’s mobility app, one that that PSA Group have decided to push in their attempt to launch a new vehicle-sharing service in the U.S. as they have done in Europe.

Whether intentional or not, Toyota has obviously taken aim at PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Opel, and Vauxhall) by choosing to say “free two move” in their Superbowl spot. One could argue that this is fantastic free exposure for the PSA’s brand as well. Or, was there a more sinister move behind the mention?

Whatever the outcome for both, the fact that Toyota chose to invest so heavily in the promotion of their mobility app means that the company is moving in the same direction as PSA Group, and that could spell trouble for PSA Group as they try to re-establish themselves in North America.