Toyota New Zealand has brought back its fictional Department of Recreations, Activities, Visits & Stuff (D-RAVS), this time giving its cast of recreation-loving characters a new job: car reviewers.
Created by Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand alongside Spark Foundry NZ and Digitas NZ, D-RAVS RAViews has the characters reviewing Toyota’s New-Gen RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, with the content designed to sit alongside established automotive reviews across YouTube and social platforms.
The campaign builds on the D-RAVS platform first launched in 2024, when Toyota introduced the fictional department and its cast of characters inspired by the RAV4 – or, as the campaign calls it, the original Recreation Activity Vehicle.
This time around, the characters have been dropped into the world of automotive content, creating their own review channel while explaining the features and capabilities of the latest RAV4.
Saatchi & Saatchi NZ group executive creative director Lee Sunter said the challenge was finding a credible reason for the characters to exist within an environment audiences already use to research cars.
“We wanted to put the D-RAVS somewhere they had a genuine reason to exist. So we made them car reviewers,” Sunter said. “They’re entertaining, useful and it behaves like a real car review, without actually being one. Or is it?”
The campaign will also see TV personality Sam Wallace put the D-RAVS RAView to the test, taking the RAV4 through a series of real-world challenges.
The partnership, facilitated by Spark Foundry NZ with NZME, will run across DRIVEN’s channels and Wallace’s show on Coast FM, putting the campaign in front of audiences already seeking automotive content.
Spark Foundry NZ general manager Kelly Rosnell-Shand said the strategy was designed to meet consumers in the places where they are already researching their next car.
“Car reviews play a critical role in the path to purchase, with audiences actively seeking out trusted content and expert perspectives before making a decision,” Rosnell-Shand said. “Rather than interrupt that behaviour, our strategy was to place the D-RAVS within the environments where those conversations are already happening.”
The campaign will then extend into customer-generated content, with Digitas New Zealand encouraging RAV4 owners and customers to create their own “RAViews” and put their own spin on the format.
Toyota will share selected reviews across its social and owned channels, extending the campaign beyond its initial launch and giving customers a chance to become part of the D-RAVS universe.
Toyota New Zealand assistant VP marketing, sustainability & technology Susanne Hardy said the D-RAVS were a natural fit for explaining the latest RAV4.
“The new generation RAV4, now available as a plug-in hybrid, represents a major leap forward in technology, connectivity and capability,” Hardy said.
“The D-RAVS were the perfect guides, given their deep expertise in all things RAV4 and recreation, helping bring those features to life in a way that’s engaging, entertaining and genuinely useful.”
