THE TOYOTA CAMPAIGN

THIS CAMPAIGN HAS NOW CLOSED WITH TOYOTA 'HUMBLY APOLOGISING'

AND WITH A DELEGATION FROM TOYOTA VISITING THE AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY

IN TOKYO TO FORMALLY APOLOGISE

THE STORY WAS:

On the weekend of the 14th and 15th February 1998, immediately following the Constitutional Convention, the Toyota Motor Corporation published an advertisement promoting the Lexus LX470 stating

This is a Report on the increasingly successful campaign by the Australian Monarchist League to force from Toyota an appropriate public apology for this extremely biased and offensive publication.

Introduction

It was on the evening of the 17th March when Philip Gibson, an ardent anti-republican campaigner, faxed to me a copy of the shocking advertisement pictured alongside.

Despite the delay in being made aware of this what in days past would be termed a ‘seditious’ publication, a strongly worded letter was immediately faxed both to Mr Shoichiro Toyoda, Chairman of the Toyota Motor Company in Japan and to the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra advising that we are not prepared to put up with this sort of interference in our internal affairs any more than they would accept non Japanese companies advertising in Japan belittling their Emperor.

Copies of the offending advertisement were faxed to the Monarchist League in Great Britain and Canada and details of our protest found their way to the international media and our crusade made front page headlines in the Daily Telegraph in London.

Over the past year we have been developing an email database of international sympathisers and details of our struggle were transmitted to nearly a thousand persons around the Globe resulting in major protests in Great Britain and Canada and with campaigns commencing in numerous other countries.

All members and supporters in Australia were urged to join in this campaign – for unless we prevent companies such as Toyota from making fun of our Queen and disparaging our system of Constitutional Monarchy – they will continue to act with impunity.

The following has been reconstructed from the article which appeared on Page One of the DAILY TELEGRAPH of the 19th March 1998

AN ADVERTISEMENT for Lexus Toyota has enraged monarchists in Australia by saying that the Queen "has had her day".

The advert, devised by Saatchi and Saatchi for a Lexus 4WD car, appeared in Australia the day after voting for the republican convention ended. It features the battered radiator grille of a Range Rover, with the caption: "Don't worry Your Majesty, you're not the only British export that's had its day."

The national chairman of the Australian Monarchist League, Philip Benwell, said: "We consider this attack to be very unkind. It is a grave insult." In a strongly worded letter to the Japanese ambassador in Australia, Mr Benwell wrote: "How dare your companies disparage the Sovereign of Australia . . . We are not prepared to put up with this sort of interference in our internal affairs any more than His Majesty (the Emperor) would accept non-Japanese companies advertising in Japan on a similar level." Mr Benwell has also written a similarly stern letter to the chairman of the Toyota Motor Company.

Brian Sheehan, chief executive of Saatchi and Saatchi, said: "We knew this was going to ruffle a few feathers, and we wanted it to be slightly controversial. So far the campaign has been a success. We have had a tremendous number of inquiries and only two or three have complained - one of whom was the Consul General - and one has to expect that.

"It is a very clever tactical advertisement, taking advantage of the fact that many Australians no longer think the Queen should remain Head of State. It's not like we woke up one day and said, 'We hate the Queen'."

Mr Benwell, who drives a Rover, intends to take the matter further. "The Queen is not a British export and she certainly has not had her day," he said “She is The Queen of Australia.”

"We're having the matter raised in Parliament, and I am also writing to Tony Blair to point out that this type of advertising should not be tolerated."

With the impending state visit of the Emperor of Japan to Britain, the timing of the contentious campaign could not have been worse.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

19 MARCH 1998

FRONT PAGE

The campaign resulted in:

• a letter from Osamu Komori, President of Toyota Australia who stated "I again humbly apologise to you and personally pledge to ensure that such inappropriate advertising never happens again." For a Japanese a serious loss of face indeed.
• a letter from Joseph J Cronin, Vice Chairman and World-Wide Director of Saatchi & Saatchi in California who stated "On February 14th of this year our systems failed us, and we are very upset. We are determined to ensure that a similar situation will not occur again. Please understand that we will not continue ads of this type and we deeply regret any concern that it has caused."
• Senior Toyota Motor Corporation representatives visiting the Australian Embassy in Tokyo to express their regret about the advertisement and Toyota Australia apologised to the British High Commissioner in Australia. They also expressed regret to the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra that they had embarrassed the Japanese Government.