People Are Angry At Toyota Over New Egyptian Fortuner Ad, Say It’s Sexist

Toyota Egypt’s all-new Fortuner campaign kicked off a month ago with modern men as its target demographic. However, by using a ‘Toyota Fortuner… made for men’ punchline, the automaker is drawing the ire of those claiming this is yet another case of gender discrimination.

The ad has been viewed via Toyota Egypt’s Facebook page no fewer than 3.2 million times, and among the 482 comments (so far), there are many who feel as though this ad is offensive and sexist.

The video spot says:  “The 21st century man doe not need to hunt for lunch. Simply, because he can have his lunch delivered to him. As such, opportunities to use his raw power are limited. To opening stubborn jar lids, or carrying up four grocery bags at the same time. It’s true. These days, it’s harder for a man to liberate his man-side. But rest assured, he knows how to use his power.”

Here are some of the things Toyota’s social media followers said after watching the spot:

– “So it’s only for men? Well done Toyota, you just lost nearly half of your sales with this sexist ad.”
– “As a female racer and off-roader, I totally dislike this campaign.”
– “A car made for men?! Does this make it a better vehicle? Hope you can revise your message”
– “Toyota Global are you aware of this sexist ad? You need to deal with this garbage ASAP”
– “Keep hiding the comments of people complaining about the sexism in the ad! We all have screen shots”.

A sports utility vehicle can be driven by anybody with a driver’s license, regardless of their gender, so we can understand where some of the commentators might be coming from with their complaints.

Toyota Global has yet to comment on the matter.

So, what’s your say; did Toyota drop the ball by focusing on the fact that the car is “made for men” or are internet users overreacting?

H/T to M Sherif!