Toyota Aygo ‘Go your own way’ / The & Partnership

Toyota’s new campaign for its Aygo model shines a light on four drag queens that help exemplify how the car can encourage self-expression. Created by The & Partnership, the work features famous drag stars Liquorice Black, Stella Meltdown, Alfie Ordinary and Le Fil who all appear in both film and poster ads for the brand under the title ‘Go your own way’, an extension of its ‘Go fun yourself’ work.

The campaign includes a series of short documentary films that give an insight into the life of each drag queen and explores the motivations behind their chosen method of self-expression. The spots also see them in the studio performing and contributing to the creative direction of the print poster ads in which they star for the Aygo campaign. Each spot focuses on a drag queen with a different style, for example Liquorice Black’s sultry 1920s character contrasts starkly against Stella Meltdown’s over the top trashy celebrity identity, and matches them with a different coloured Aygo model.

The Aygo features subtly throughout the documentaries. Rather than the vehicle being front and centre of the work, as you would expect from a campaign promoting a car, it is instead used as a prop in the wider narrative. It transports the film’s subject around and becomes part of the make-up of the photoshoot set. The positioning of the car in this way exemplifies Toyota’s vision for the Aygo to be something that does not stunt but instead encourage and complement self-expression.  

Being probably the first car brand to use drag queens in its advertising, the Aygo campaign will definitely make a lasting impression. The infectious artistry and energy seen in this campaign is also bound to have an effect on rival car brand’s future campaigns and continue to see the boundaries expanded on car advertising.

The work ties in to the car brand’s ‘Always a better way’ strapline and will run on social media, outdoor and digital.