In October 2012, the world took notice when an unmodified half-ton Toyota Tundra towed a space shuttle and assisting dolly across the Manchester Boulevard Bridge and 405 Freeway to its new home at the California Science Center. Fast forward over a year later and Toyota's Endeavour campaign is still being awed over, and this time it was at The One Club's advertising awards ceremony.
The Endeavour weighs a whooping 300,000 pounds, so you can imagine the surprise when Toyota announced that a stock half-ton Tundra CrewMax - with no modifications - would tow the shuttle to its final resting place in California. This once-in-a-lifetime achievement and the campaign that documented it were recently acknowledged by The One Club at their Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards, where the organization gave the Endeavour campaign top honors in the experiential advertising category.
There were five segments, including Print & Outdoor, Broadcast TV, Online Video, Interactive and Experiential Advertising, and the club received over 500 entries from companies all over the world. Ads had to impress a panel of 50 journalists and creative directors, who judged and determined the winners in each class of the competition.
The Tundra Endeavour project not only helped raise awareness of the space program, but also presented a truly one-of-a-kind advertising opportunity that put a spotlight on the truck's abilities. It's a big compliment to continue winning awards and recognition for a campaign that debuted over a year ago, but it is no surprise considering the extreme uniqueness of the Tundra Endeavour mission.
The Toyota Tundra CrewMax used to tow the Endeavour was equipped with a powerful 5.7L V8 engine and had a max tow capacity of 10,000 pounds. TMS conducted extensive testing and worked with The Sarens Group, a heavy-lifting and engineered-transport company, to develop a dolly specifically for hauling the spaceship. Tundra was chosen over all other trucks on the market to complete the mission.
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