Interest
Initial D Races For New Toyota GR86 Car Ads
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Initial D's iconic Toyota AE86 is a cultural mainstay in Japan. Toyota USA's marketing campaign for the 2022 Toyota is leaning heavily into that nostalgia by creating a series of collaboration ads with Initial D, which highlight the AE86's legacy and present the GR86 as its next evolution.
The ads, which depict Initial D protagonist Takumi Fujiwara taking on a GR86, were directed by Annis Naeem. According to Naeem on Twitter, the ads were created entirely with Blender.
In 2016, Toyota UK designed a concept car based on the AE86 as a nod to its role in getting manga and anime fans worldwide interested in drifting on Japanese mountain roads. An orange Toyota86 (as it's called in Japan) appeared in 2016's Initial D film. As evidence of Initial D's impact, Mamoru Miyano (Takumi in the recent film series) claims that it spurred him to get a driver's license.
Source: Press Release
