NEW YORK (April 26, 2017) – Last night Toyota was honored by the American Advertising Federation as the 2017 corporate inductee during the 68^th Annual Advertising Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies and Gala Dinner, held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
 
Jim Lentz, chief executive officer and Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Motor North America, accepted the honor on behalf of the company. Toyota joins an elite group of companies – only eight have been honored in the Hall of Fame's history – that have achieved legendary reputations as global industry leaders, and whose contributions to the art and business of advertising have changed the landscape of our industry, and become a part of the broader American story.
 
“We have worked very hard in the past decades to be more than just another car company and to be part of the fabric of America,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive officer, Toyota Motor North America.  “On behalf of more than 136,000 employees in North America, and more than 1,500 dealers, THANK YOU to the American Advertising Federation for this incredible honor.”
 
“Day in and day out, we rally our agency teams to be inspired, to challenge each other, to innovate, to take risks and not be afraid of stumbles,” said Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Motor North America.  “We expect the team to think differently about the ideas we create for every product launch, every campaign – everything we do.  When you create an environment like that, great ideas and innovations are born and for that we thank our agency partners, including Conill, Burrell, Intertrend, Rezonate, Zenith – and Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, our lead agency partner for nearly 50 years.” 
 
“A lesson from this year’s corporate inductee: if you want to transform a brand into an icon, it will take years of hard work.  But in the end, you will create a household name that is instantly recognizable as a symbol of quality, innovation, service and dedication,” said Ed Erhardt, Chairman of the Advertising Hall of Fame and the President of Global Sales and Marketing for ESPN while presenting the award.
 
"From its groundbreaking campaign featuring a Toyota Tundra hauling the space shuttle Endeavour across the 405 Freeway; to its early and successful outreach to multicultural audiences, including the award-winning “Mas Que un Auto” (More Than A Car) celebration of owner loyalty; to introducing the world to the Prius hybrid and Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell, by combining green thinking while educating the public about new technologies, through brilliant marketing;  Toyota has time and again demonstrated its creative leadership in advertising and marketing, all while showing a consistent commitment in that work to the greater good and the important American values of diversity, inclusion and forward-thinking," said AAF President & CEO James Edmund Datri.
 
Toyota was inducted into the Hall along with eight individual advertising legends and Robert De Niro was the recipient of this year’s President’s Award for Special Lifetime Contributions to Advertising.
 
For more information on the Advertising Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies & Gala, please visit aaf.org/ahof.