NEW YORK Scion is launching vibrant TV and print ads in what is essentially an extension of last year’s “United by individuality” initiative.

Crafted by San Francisco-based Attik, the new “Samples” push offers a candy-colored, kinetic look at Scion’s five-door xB subcompact wagon and the tC, a two-door sports coupe that serves as a successor of sorts to Toyota’s discontinued Celica.

The first print ads began hitting newsstands in the January issues of music and lifestyle glossies Revolver, Death + Taxes, Juxtapoz, Play and Big Shot. As part of a media strategy that runs through March, Scion will place one of nine different executions in as many as 20 publications.

Attik’s effort features abstract photo treatments of the two models, including a shot of a customized pink-tinted tC that resembles an inverted bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Another ad combines strategically placed mirrors and moody lighting to create an xB that resembles a gemstone.

In order to zero in on its youthful demo, the client is snapping up late-night real estate on male-skewing cable networks like Viacom’s Comedy Central and Spike TV, as well as Adult Swim, SiTV and Fuel. Beginning this week, those five nets will carry the xB creative. Meanwhile, MTV, BET, Fuse and G4 will host spots for the tC.

Scion is limiting its TV run to those cable venues because that is where its adherents reside.

The spots do not bow to the conventions that have made automotive advertising an exercise in beautifully photographed generica. The tC ad manipulates images of tricked-out Scion compacts in a digital mashup of color and synthesized beats. And in lieu of an A-list celebrity touting fuel efficiency and financing, the xB creative lets the car’s toaster-oven-with-headlights aesthetic speak for itself.

“When you look at car commercials at this moment in time, it’s become obvious that everyone is trying to sell promotions and deals and so forth, and what we’re doing is trying to stay true to our brand proposition,” said Attik co-founder and creative director Simon Needham. “We want to create something different from what the rest of the industry is doing, while continuing to target people who are inspired by good creative content.”

Scion typically spends $30-40 million annually in measured media. The nameplate spent about $20 million on ads through the first 10 months of 2008, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Since its national rollout in 2004, Scion has deliberately positioned itself to appeal to the customization crowd. Rather than overdesigning its cars, Scion offers something of a blank canvas onto which consumers can project themselves. (Personalization begins at the company’s Web site, where prospective buyers can trick out their cars with LED tail lights, rear spoilers and 19-inch five-spoke rims.)

In a nod to such adaptability, vehicles shown in the latest spots were personalized by their owners, with tweaks ranging from classic applique racing stripes to full-on confectionery-style paint jobs.

A spot for a third Scion model, the xD hatchback, is expected to bow later this month.

With a base sticker price of around $18,000, Scion might position itself as a recession-buster, yet the company isn’t straying from its original brand message.

“A lot of people are looking at it as a great value, but we’re going to stay focused on our target audience,” Needham said. “We’re not looking to weaken our position by trying to appeal to a broader segment.”

In a month in which U.S. auto sales plunged 36 percent, Scion slowed significantly in December, selling 4,127 units, a drop of 54 percent versus the year-ago period. The automaker moved 1,794 xBs, a drop of 53 percent versus its December ’07 numbers, while clearing 1,348 tCs, a dip of almost 62 percent.

Americans drove 113,904 Scion vehicles off the lot in 2008, a drop of 12.5 percent versus the Toyota marque’s year-ago sales totals. The xB held its ground last year, as Scion shifted 45,220 vehicles, a dip of just 1.7 percent versus 2007 sales of 45,834. The tC didn’t fare as well, as sales of the two-door model declined 36 percent to 40,980.

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The “United By Individuality” campaign pays tribute to Scion owners and the broader Scion community. With the campaign’s creative approach ambitiously calling for hundreds of Scion owners to unite earlier this year with their xAs, xBs, tCs and xDs for a massive photo and film shoot in the Nevada desert, the results have debuted over the past several weeks in various integrated campaign elements, including a 60-second cinema/television spot called “Declaration,” as well as in print and online media.

The Scion United website ( http://www.scion.com/scionunited) went live with new content on Aug. 8, which was developed and produced by ATTIK. Using the campaign’s media and event imagery, the website further celebrates the owners and their roles in the campaign and the Scion community. The innovative interface presents visitors with a “pixelized” version of the campaign’s “Declaration” spot, with each pixel representing unique content available for review, downloading and sharing. The site allows owners to re-live their event experiences and download images of their personalized cars. Campaign print and broadcast elements are also integrated and available for download, along with other digital offerings like screensavers customized with owners’ cars. The ability to share content from the site presents visitors with unique opportunities to connect with each other.

“This is a real honor and I think both our internal team and our clients at Scion deserve a lot of credit,” said ATTIK co-founder and creative director Simon Needham. “Over the past two years, the ability to offer our own web development and production resources grew from an idea into a proven capability. We thank our clients for having the vision and bravery to allow us to produce this type of breakthrough work.”

In March of 2007, ATTIK earned its very first FWA Site of the Day award for its http://www.want2Bsquare.com site promoting the 2008 Scion xB. That distinction was followed by their http://www.littledeviant.com site for the 2008 Scion xD being named FWA Site of the Day on July 2, 2007. The latter site was also short-listed for this year’s annual Webby Awards, and at the 2008 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Based in England, FWA is the world’s most visited website award program, earning over a million visits per month (averaging 42,000 on weekdays) and over 40 million visits since its launch in May, 2000. The popular site attracts a new visitor every two seconds.

Along with Simon Needham, ATTIK’s project team for the “United By Individuality” campaign also included VP interactive media Justin Smyth, senior interactive account manager Robyn Glennon, and senior interactive art director Mike Daniel, among many others.

About ATTIK

ATTIK ( http://www.attik.com) is a global creative and brand-engineering agency committed to designing extraordinary creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling communications. ATTIK’s strategic planning, design, advertising, production, client service and young-adult research expertise have driven success across an array of consumer product and service categories. ATTIK articulates corporate brand strategy, designs creative solutions for advertising, below-the-line and online media, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients’ brands. For inquiries, please call Ric Peralta (Ric@attik.com) at +1-415-284-2600.

About Scion

Scion is the newest line of vehicles from Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. Developed with a new generation of youthful buyers in mind, Scion’s mission is to provide distinctive products, the opportunity to personalize, and an innovative, consumer-driven process at the retail level. The Scion brand features three ground-breaking models — the xD a subcompact five-door; the xB, an urban utility vehicle with an iconic shape; and the tC sports coupe. For more information, visit http://www.scion.com.

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In an ad for the xB called Pendulum, Scion quite startlingly demonstrates it does not give a damn what you think.

Given the car’s sheer ugliness (that pumpkin shade ain’t helping), whoring for mainstream acceptance would have been a depressing uphill fight. Instead of trying to hide its blunt features, Scion made them the draw. And the ad suggests it isn’t afraid of strong feelings, whatever they are.

It certainly helps that agency ATTIK is great at generating emotions not normally associated with car ads. Scion’s work, for example, always feels a little eerie and violent. When that first “He loves me…” drifted out of my speakers, I got chills.

(It was probably the kid’s voice that did it. There’s something endlessly creepy about using innocence to portray deviance.)

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Often referred to as the Oscars of the Internet, the Webby Awards (www.webbyawards.com) honour the best websites in the world. The event was practically an unknown in 1997 when it was created by Internet designer and reporter Tiffany Schlain, who was given the assignment by The Web magazine. She barely raised enough money to hold the ceremony and only managed to give out a statue in each of 15 categories. In 1998 The Web magazine ceased publication and everyone was fired, except for Schlain and her one staffer, Dave Skaff, but she had come up with a winning concept. This year is the 12th annual ceremony, with awards being presented in nearly 70 categories to nominees that come from all over the world.

One winner in each category is chosen by the 550 members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (www.iadas.net), whose membership includes such celebrities and luminaries as Sir Richard Branson, musician David Bowie, and Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons.

Ballots cast by ordinary Internet users decide a second winner in each category, called the Peoples’ Choice Award. Until May 1 you can go to the People’s Choice site (http://pv.webbyawards.com) and register to vote for your selection of a winner in as many or as few of the categories as you like.

Deciding on which sites to select as winners can be an enjoyable task since you will be treated to viewing a collection of the most amazing websites imaginable, but it’s also quite daunting since there are more than 350 websites vying for awards. You can pick several areas of interest and browse around the sites, which will keep you busy for some time.

Besides the time, you will need a fast Internet connection, a set of speakers and the latest version of Internet Explorer or Firefox. In a strange twist, many of the sites can detect and let you know if you lack the correct settings or resolution to appreciate the site. In the Activism category there is an interesting clash of interests. There is the graphically spectacular corporate site of H and M Fashion (http://www.hm.com/us/?#/faa), which is donating a modest portion of its sales to the fight against AIDS, Brad Pitt’s Make It Right site (http://makeitrightnola.org/), and the technically brilliant but harrowing and tragic Eyes on Darfur (http://eyesondarfur.org).

In other categories the Calligraphic World of Mi Fu’s Art (http://tech2.npm.gov.tw/mifu/ is a quiet and elegantly beautiful look at the work of a renowned artist, whereas the Automotive category’s nominees range from videos of BMW cars careening around a track (www.relearntodrive.com) to a strange urban nightmare game from Scion (http://attiknoise.com/ littledeviant/).

The Adbash site (http://theadbash.com) is a great example of cutting-edge website programming. Other sites depend more on outlandish content, such Rathergood (www.rathergood.com/), which is a website devoted to bizarre videos of kittens singing and dancing, or Someecards (www.someecards.com) which has e-cards that you can e-mail to celebrate birthdays and such, but they feature black and white images with seriously weird slogans.

In the Radio category you’ll see that the CBC has been nominated, but for its little-known Radio 3 site (http://radio3.cbc.ca/) which is an Internet-only radio station highlighting young, upcoming Canadian talent.

The Webby Award winners will be announced on June 10 at a gala in New York City.

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As announced by Scion last month, only 2,500 xB RS 5.0s will be produced, with each one featuring dazzling Gold Rush Mica exterior paint and accented interior trim, a KenStyle® body kit, a moonroof, RS wheel covers and individually numbered badging.

Under the direction of Attik’s co-founder and creative director Simon Needham, the agency’s team worked closely with Scion to create and launch a new integrated marketing campaign promoting these vehicles, which become available this month. The online component debuted on Feb 16, in support of the campaign’s guerilla activities, which kicked off on that day.

“For our campaign, we are treating these vehicles as priceless valuables,” Needham explained. “In selected neighborhoods across the US, street teams in security uniforms will appear driving campaign-branded armored transports. Street team members (provided by New York-based Massivemedia) will provide giveaways that allow recipients to access a password-protected area of the microsite we’ve produced – where they can download a screensaver, instant messaging icons and a desktop background. Visitors can also learn more about the model and access other original content.”

“This is the first time Scion is using street teams to bring attention to a Release Series vehicle,” said Jack Hollis, Scion vice president. “We love the eye-catching color and couldn’t resist playing off of the xB Release Series 5.0’s gold theme. We’ll continue to engage young trendleaders and brand enthusiasts with fun, creative and non-traditional campaigns like this.”

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