Author: Diana M. Cuyler

The Sienna minivan is one of the vehicles featured in Toyota’s new brand campaign, “Never … [+] Adjust.”

Toyota

Toyota has always been a brand with an all-encompassing appeal to American consumers that isn’t necessarily tied to single nameplates like the enduring Corolla or the RAV4 that sets the SUV standard. Instead, arguably Toyota’s greatest attribute has been that it represents quality, sensitivity and a certain appeal to mainstream concepts such as value, and in an anthropomorphic sense to empathy and awareness.

That’s why the brand can release a new ad campaign that doesn’t promote any specific vehicle, but reminds American consumers why they love Toyota in the first place. “Never Settle” is a logical extension leveraging multiculturalism to build on the foundation Toyota has laid with its global brand platform over the past decade, “Let’s Go Places.” Yet the theme of its new campaign makes the brand proactive in new ways.

Just launched, the campaign began with a handful of TV ads and associated online extensions that celebrate its vehicles – and more than that, its brand – in the lives of Hispanics, Blacks and other diverse audiences.

One ad, “Training Wheels,” chronicles the life of a young black man as he learns to ride a bike, swim and even fly, encouraged along the way not to be afraid. A second spot, “Not Yet”, focuses on the ambitions and perseverance of Hispanic Americans which includes a “clip” of a future first Hispanic President of the United States. A third commercial, “A New World”, depicts a real mixed-origin family driving their baby home from the hospital in a Toyota Sienna.

“The campaign is meant to tell stories and share inspiring messages about what Toyota is about as a brand,” Lisa Materazzo, vice president of Toyota Division Marketing Group for Toyota Motor North America, told me. “It works very well in the context of ‘Let’s Go Places’.”

Toyota launched “Let’s Go Places” in 2012 “to reflect Toyota’s forward-looking and optimistic momentum in the United States,” Materazzo said, and the brand has expanded positioning across a variety of settings and campaigns ranging from the Super Bowl at the Olympics.

Interestingly, Toyota’s latest campaign kicks off without any sort of overt shift towards electrification as either a philosophy or a reality of Toyota’s fleet. After establishing an early beachhead in battery-powered cars with the introduction of its Prius hybrid 25 years ago, Toyota has since been the most notable brand to resist the lurch of the global auto industry in a devotion all-electric vehicles.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda echoed that lingering message the other day, telling American reporters that the company would continue to focus on hybrids as a short-term solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. using a variety of technologies to achieve carbon neutrality, including hydrogen. Powerful. In the meantime, he pointed out, Toyota does not plan to adopt mass electrification, in part because it would not meet the needs of much of its diverse customer base around the world. “We don’t want to leave anyone behind,” he said.

Materazzo explained: “Toyota has always been very focused on customer wants and needs, and in our approach to electrification, we take that very much into account. We have a lot of variety, from a manual transmission Corolla GR to a big new Tundra [pickup truck] with a hybrid option. This reflects our understanding that the unique approach [with all-electrics] won’t work for consumers right away.

Bolide F HR 3D is the new name of the bike developed by Pinarello that incorporates 3D printed parts. The Italian brand claims it’s the fastest 3D-printed bike in the world, designed specifically for Filippo Ganna and his Hour Record, the cycling challenge of covering the greatest distance possible in one hour. . The frame and fork of the bike were 3D printed on a metal machine from a Scandium-Aluminium-Magnesium alloy, traditionally used in the aerospace industry.

Additive manufacturing is often involved in cycling, enabling better performance for professional and amateur cyclists. The goal is to design optimized, lighter and more comfortable components to improve the racing experience, whatever the end goal. The technologies and materials used vary and it is not uncommon to use metal 3D printing or composite processes to provide maximum strength. This is Pinarello’s bet, who turned to this way of treating metal.

This process has allowed us to introduce new shapes and features that are impossible to replicate.

Pinarello

At the level of the frame and the fork of the bike, it is a laser fusion process on a powder bed which has been used. Pinarello has chosen a Scandium-Aluminium-Magnesium alloy, known for its high resistance. “The frame was only made up of five parts, with the front triangle being three pieces and the seatstays/chain rails being two other pieces,” the company said. “These parts were made individually and after meticulous cleaning and removal of supports. The parts were bonded together using an aerospace grade epoxy. As for the handlebar, it was also 3D printed but in titanium .

The teams behind this project were largely inspired by humpback whales, further proof that biomimicry and 3D printing go hand in hand. They relied on research carried out by the University of Adelaide since 2006, which shows that these whales are able to perform very sharp turns and large leaps out of the water thanks to their tubercles, that is- i.e. the protrusions located in front of their fins. These help them drain water better and therefore reduce drag and improve lift.

Inspired by the fins of these humpback whales, Adeläide researchers imagined a sinusoidal hydrofoil design on a bicycle frame. They realized that this would reduce the drag on the frame: the ridges mimicking the tubercles make it possible to generate sort of vortices between the bumps on the seat post, thus reducing the separation between the seat post and the frame. This design would allow the bike to go faster. For Pinarello, it’s an important but not sufficient design, so the brand worked with an aerodynamic R&D specialist, NablaFlow. This allowed Pinarello to come up with a unique AeroNodes design to dramatically improve the bike’s aerodynamics.

The new frame has been designed to reduce the frontal area as much as possible also taking advantage of the removal of the UCI 3:1 rule. There have been substantial gains by making the wheel hubs as well as the bottom bracket (BB) narrower than normal. The BB has been reduced to 54mm (instead of 70mm), the wheel hubs from 120mm to 89mm at the rear and from 100mm to 69mm at the front.

With pumpkin spiced lattes and dark nights coming in abundance, it’s fair to say that spooky season is in full swing – something Brocade provides the perfect soundtrack for with their brand new single, “Haunted”. Showing us exactly how the track earned its namesake, “Haunted” begins with a thunderous clap of drums and gritty guitar strings, slowly descending into a cacophony of rock that shakes your eardrums as well as your soul in perfect time.

For the ultimate troubled love story, Brocade is seen in the track’s accompanying music video singing to a ghost to whom she confesses her undying love. Letting anger charge its lyricism, the track reveals Brocarde’s frustration that her lover will never be truly accessible – a poignant perspective on the nature of ghosts that is never truly explored. Seeking out his ghosts instead of hiding from them, Brocade delivers a powerful performance in which his penchant for biting melodies is perfectly tempered by its subtle cut of comedy and thought-provoking storytelling.

To celebrate the single’s release, we sat down with Brocarde to discuss the real ghost in “Haunted,” the rock artists’ journey so far in the industry, and what she hopes to accomplish next. Head below now for the unique and full interview…

Hi Brocade! How are you? Where are we talking to you from?
I feel with a half-heavy heart and two fingers covered in mittens! Typically, at this time of day, I would dust the cobwebs off my coffin, but since it’s almost Halloween, it’s currently at the undertaker’s where it gets its annual buffing and buffing. It’s so painful to travel, so they fit it with supersonic sparkly rims so I can drive it to the local supermarket. I’m considering starting a petition for dead body parking as I’ve had a few punches with hairy bikers for using the motorcycle spots.

How has the past year been for you? What were your highlights?
I’m a personal fan of any year with 22, and since it’s the first since 1922, it’s a bit of a riot! Highlights for me were finding a bat-shaped cookie in a packet of baking sheets, exploring the paranormal world in my podcast “Boo It’s Brocade” and of course releasing my new single “Haunted” .

Let’s start at the beginning, how did you find yourself in music?
As my five-year-old self stood desperately punching a triangle at the school assembly, I knew I was destined for greater things. After briefly trying the recorder, I realized that I wanted more out of life than an annual “Twinkle, twinkle, like star.” recital. When I was younger, I loved to act, I loved being on stage and I loved everything that was creative but above all I loved to write. It was an invaluable tool for me, to write everything that I dealt with internally and to sing it, it was my freedom of expression. For someone who struggled with self-image and introversion, being on stage gave me power and that’s where I came to life, it made me feel fearless. I did any type of show I could, acting, dancing and acting, but it was songwriting that got me into the music business. It gave me a voice where theater couldn’t, I found excitement performing my own songs and with the help of the internet I found I could be an artist of my own whole, I didn’t have to play a character in someone else’s story. I briefly dabbled in the world of “pop” music, but found myself headed in a direction I hated, I started to feel fabricated like I didn’t have my own voice after all, we m was told to look and act a certain way and I rebelled against it. I decided to run away to Los Angeles to “find myself”, that’s where I met great people who opened my eyes to a whole new world, I wrote the songs that I always dreamed of writing and the rest is history.

How did you discover your sound? What were your inspirations?
A big part of discovering my own sound was ignoring any rules or preconceptions, ignoring all the other artists and just focusing on what I wanted to say. I found my sound was defined by what I wanted to share, I orchestrated my emotions, so anger and frustration took me to the depths of rock and metal and my vulnerability played out with delicate classical instruments, which is why my music is so melting pot because there are so many elements of my personality and so many varied experiences that have made me who I am today. Any situation has the potential to be inspiring and it is important to remember this.

Congratulations on the release of “Haunted”! What was your state of mind when writing this song?
Experimental, adventurous and open to new experiences, I literally wanted to change records, I was bored with human nature and wanted to enter another realm. I had experienced some pretty upsetting paranormal activity and it really inspired me to write ‘Haunted’, it was a perspective I had never voiced before so it was fresh and something I was dying to to share.

What did you want to create?
I wanted to share myself and what I was going through at the time, every song starts with that, and it was no different.

How did you come up with the concept?
I wouldn’t say anything was conceptualized, that’s fair. Realistically, as a songwriter, I will take inspiration from anywhere and anyone, in the past I was scared and worried about running out of inspiration, after all, humans can be predictable and behaviors repeat and you can’t afford it sounds like a broken record! If you are closed you live less and I always wanted a life full of unique experiences. The song “Haunted” was my way of making sense of being introduced to a ghost, being an artist is such a big part of who I am and I was intrigued to see that a spirit would warm up on the creative side of me and even greater than that could music be another way to reach those who have been long forgotten and reach the afterlife?

Who was the first person you played the song to when it was finished? What was their reaction?
Edwardo, the ghost, since he was my muse and the song is about him, it felt right to share it with him first. Since the flickering of candles is one of Edwardo’s favorite means of communication, I thought I’d fill the room with candles, clutching my songwriting book, I cautiously mumbled the opening lyrics… Edwardo n didn’t appear… I continued blindly, each time getting longer and more intense with my delivery. As I sang the lyrics “Haunted, ghosted, so alive but dead inside”, every candle in the room went out and warmth rushed over my body. That’s when I knew the song had its stamp of approval and from that moment I was happy to share it with the world.

What do you hope people will take away from it?
I hope the clip gives some insight into what it feels like to be hit by a paranormal force. I’ve always loved the horror movie aesthetic, but this is like an actual horror story and I hope it connects to some people on all levels. Apart from that, I hope people can adapt my lyrics to their own situation and interpret them in a way that touches them personally. Although the lyrics are inspired by my personal experiences, they can be reversed and are very universal and apply to any forbidden or unconventional relationship.

Are there other genres that you would like to explore within your art?
I can really think in terms of genres, I guess I like to leave no stone unturned. Naturally, because of the emotional elements, I can see myself warming up to the country and southern goth style music, though I won’t lose my accent and pay homage to Dolly Parton. Who knows, you might find me retired on a ranch in Nashville, with a collection of dazzling cowboy boots, hugging a goat, strumming a guitar, and howling at the moon. The most important thing for me is not to limit myself and to be limited, how you are today is never how you are tomorrow.

And finally, where would you like to be in five years?
Hopefully I’ll be in 2027 and not lost in time. Although if Dr Who I wouldn’t say no to time travel, I often think I was born in the wrong decade, I would have been a good Victorian, or a bad Victorian, or maybe I’d steal the costumes and the aesthetic and keep the values ​​of 2022, it would be ideal to have one foot in the future and one foot in the past.