I’ve said before that automakers today need to figure out what their brand stands for at its core. Is it the fastest? The safest? The coolest? The most rugged? Whatever it is, you must communicate that attribute in order to move metal.

So what do you do if you’ve built your entire brand on reliability and dependability…and suddenly that all goes out the window? That’s exactly what Toyota is facing right now. Toyota announced yesterday that they are recalling 2.3 million vehicles. The recall affects eight Toyota brands. As if that weren’t catastrophic enough, the automaker has also completely shut down the assembly line for these eight vehicles.

I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years in the automotive ad business. Check out my column in Ad Age to find out what Toyota must do immediately to fix the situation…before it’s too late.

LINKS:
You Sleep When You Die – If You Can’t Keep Up, Get Off the Road
Ad Age – Toyota Must ‘Right the Consumer at Any Cost’