Kurt Verlin
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Toyota Highlander’s Super Bowl Ad Features Cobie Smulders

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Colbie Smulders in Toyotas Heroes
Photo: Toyota | YouTube

“I watch the game for the snacks and the commercials,” Cobie Smulders says about the Super Bowl. But when the San Francisco 49ers faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs, Smulders had transcended simply watching the commercials. Instead, she was featured in a Toyota Super Bowl ad behind the wheel of the all-new 2020 Toyota Highlander.

The spot, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, appeared in the first ad break of the fourth quarter when the Chiefs were still 10 points behind. Titled “Heroes,” the spot features Smulders as she rescues a cast of characters from peril in movie moments that have become all-too-familiar to regular movie-watchers; the part of the plot when someone stays behind to heroically stave off the danger as family and friends head off in the last escape transport, too full to carry anyone else.

That’s when Smulders shows up with the Highlander, with room for lots of tragic heroes and plenty more. To add emotion to each scene, Toyota says a high-intensity movie trailer music piece was uniquely composed for the commercial.


Related: Find the right Highlander for you

“When Toyota approached me, I felt very flattered getting to play the hero in my first-ever Big Game commercial,” said actress Cobie Smulders. “I’m a mom, and I love that I’m playing a mom in this ad. When I think of heroes, I think of women and moms — the toughest people out there — and to be able to represent that is a wonderful thing.”

“Heroes” marks the launch of a totally new campaign dubbed “GO HIGHLANDER,” which will feature both the fourth-generation Highlander and Highlander Hybrid. Toyota says the campaign was developed using its Total Toyota model, which “features a blended and cohesive marketing approach inclusive of multicultural marketing.”

That sounds like a lot of corporate-speak, but if the new Toyota Super Bowl ad is anything to go by, the rest of the ad campaign should be pretty good.


Related: Explore the Toyota SUV lineup