Scion Momentarily Shelves Little Deviants - for Urban Hustlers? Yawn.
With the help of video site Blastro, which specializes in pandering to the brand-spankin'-old Urban Hustlers demographic, Scion shakes off its Little Deviants to remind suburban "deviants" they're still down with the community.
We have to admit that the interactive room in Block Savvy nails the street aesthetic nicely, and Streetfire, their racer-friendly customization page, brings Scion back to what made the otherwise-unattractive vehicle unique in the first place (its mutability).
But we're otherwise really bored with all this desperate pleading in the direction of hip hop. It's the reason why we liked Want 2 B Square and Little Deviants so much - Scion carved an edgy new personality on its own merits instead of paying Kanye for his. So much for that.
Comments
Yeah, Angela, but that Little Deviants stuff was just a touch beyond. I don't fit in the Urban Young Driver demo, but I love a good bloody game like the rest of America. However, murdering the nonconformist sheeple and using their blood to power your xD factory seemed a touch on the brutal side. Unique, yes. Sells cars? Doubt it.
I never really cared much for this campaign. It seemed a tad bit forced. "Hey folks! Wanna know what's cool?! Take from a major car company to tell you what's cool! Yeah! ROCK ON!!!"
Scion's been trying (buying) awfully hard to show everyone they've got some street cred. They've got to keep a couple key things in mind when developing these campaigns:
First: They're selling inexpensive cars with interesting body designs, NOT restored '64 Chevy Impalas. Real credibility is earned, not bought. If Scion has to spend over $30 million in ads telling everyone how cool and credible they are, chances are pretty good that they're not all that cool. Having to buy cool is for poseurs.
Second: I was told by Scion's reps that the "...Deviant campaign was meant to target a free thinking demographic that challenged conformity with an open mind." Most of the free thinkers I’ve met manage to keep an open mind without having to fantasize about committing violent crimes.
Lastly, "Sheeple" seem like the sort of people that would own (buy) a Camry, eh? It seems that Scion's "deviant" campaign is counter productive to Toyota's overall business plan, when they start belittling the owners of their number one selling product, eh?
I was hoping to buy the tC later this year, but I ain't no deviant poseur. I'll just stick with my tricked-out emerald '71 Volvo p1800e for now.
Try, try again, Scion.