Most communities aren’t quite accustomed to the sight of sumo wrestlers in training, and certainly not in the public domain. However, one might assume that after decades of living in close proximity to Hollywood, the residents of Los Angeles have learned to expect just about anything. False. When Toyota set a bevy of sumo wrestlers loose in the city’s streets, the spectacle proved just as curious to the locals of even this hub of fantasy and fiction.
The unusual display was related to the filming of a new ad, in which 7 practitioners of this famous Japanese martial art demonstrate the workings of Toyota Safety Sense, a recently-launched package of active safety technologies.
The ad, created for the Japanese market, draws are rather quirky yet relatable parallels between the wrestlers negotiating the streets of L.A. and the corresponding features of Toyota Safety Sense. While the terms presented as techniques are not actually sumo lingo, the joke is that they should sound plausible even to an aficionado of the sport, as if they were real moves that have been mastered by these 7 wrestlers.
Since making its debut on the Corolla in Japan last April, Toyota Safety Sense has been gradually making its way around the world, and is available (depending on market) on numerous Toyota models including the Auris, Avensis, Prius, and RAV4. Just as these 7 sumo wrestlers are dedicated to the perfection of their art, this safety package was developed to enable the eventual realization of Toyota’s goal: reducing road accidents to zero. Of course, it doesn’t stand out quite as visibly as a sumo train jogging through Los Angeles, but it is out there, and it is helping to make the automotive world a safer place!
You can click on the YouTube link below to watch the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=200&v=bG7hnpAeja0
