Tokyo Olympics 2021: Toyota cancels TV ad. Here's the real reason why

Tokyo Olympics' sponsor Toyota on Monday has said that it has scrapped plans to run an Olympic-linked brand campaign in Japan. This decision comes amidst strong opposition to the already pandemic-postponed games. The car brand that is a major sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, has not revealed the exact reason behind the decision to scrap the TV ad.

The ad campaign was dubbed as "Start your impossible". It was specifically designed for the Olympic games. Earlier on Monday, Toyota's operating officer Jun Nagata said that it is becoming more difficult for the Olympics to strike a positive chord with the Japanese citizens. "It is turning into an Olympics that cannot get understanding in various ways," Nagata said to Japanese media.

The Japanese automaker has also said that will not send any of its executives to the opening ceremony, reported AFP. Toyota spokesperson Shiori Hashimoto said the decision has been taken as there will be no spectators.

According to Japanese media, less than 1,000 Olympic games officials and VIPs including the sponsors will be allowed to watch the opening ceremony scheduled on Friday. Around 60 Japanese companies have invested a record $3.3 billion into the Tokyo Olympics. Toyota itself has invested $500 million.

However, the hope for marketing opportunities has been affected severely by the spectator ban by the game's authorities.

The auto manufacturer had major plans for the Tokyo Olympics. The company announced to provide a full line-up of electrified vehicles. As mobility partner of the sports event, the company developed some special editions of its existing vehicles. It developed some vehicles specifically for the event.

Earlier in 2019, Toyota announced to provide a total of around 3,700 mobility products and vehicles for the event. Nearly 90% of them were claimed to be electrified including Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). Also, the fleet includes Accessible People Mover (APM) and e-Palette as well as Toyota Concept-i. The company claimed that among the electrified vehicles fleet approximately 500 FCEVs and approximately 850 BEVs would be there.