Highlander

Make
Toyota
Segment
SUV

Car manufacturers have traditionally spent insane amounts of money on shooting 60-second Super Bowl ads that seek to entertain or inspire, with the end goal always being you walking into a dealership and buying one of their cars. It's good to see that nothing has changed: companies will use any life story or personal achievement to sell you some wheels, and this year the Emmy nomination for best Big Game tear-jerker goes to Toyota for its ad Brothers, which tells the tale of Brian and Robin McKeever, two winter athletes with an incredible story.

Toyota is known for creating some of the most memorable Big Game ads; its 2020 piece, entitled Heroes followed actress Cobie Smulders as she rescued people in a Toyota Highlander, and last year's ad Upstream showcased some of the challenges people faced during the height of the Covid pandemic.

This year, Brothers sees the company deliver a more personal message of hope, strength, and brotherly love. The ad follows the journey of Brian, a Global Team Toyota Athlete and Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian, and his brother Robin throughout their childhood in Canada, and through Brian's struggle with Stargardt Macular Degeneration, an untreatable degenerative eye condition. Despite the adversities he faces, Brian, with the help of his brother, goes on to win ten Paralympic medals.

"Robin and Brian's story reminds us that with strength, determination and the freedom to move, you can accomplish anything. Toyota's support of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement gives us the honor of highlighting our amazing Team Toyota athletes that achieve the impossible every day," said Lisa Materazzo, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America.

"I hope my story inspires viewers to start their impossible - whatever that might be. I've learned firsthand that anything is possible with perseverance, and the support of a brother, like Robin," said Brian McKeever. Now go buy a Toyota.