Toyota, dealers get pop culture boost on 'Modern Family'

Pop culture can have a powerful impact on social perceptions.In which case, the TV show “Modern Family” on ABC polished the tarnished image of the modern car dealership in Wednesday night’s episode.That episode also proved the show’s product placement deal with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is alive and well.The recapIn the episode, Phil Dunphy and his father-in-law, Jay Pritchett, go to a Toyota dealership. Phil plans to buy his daughter a car for her 21st birthday and had the deal already negotiated. It just needed his signature.But Jay, being a busybody, couldn’t resist the urge to meddle.Let the hilarity ensue.Jay starts to renegotiate the deal, convinced all car salesmen are sharks and his bumbling, hapless son-in-law is fresh meat.Says Jay, “Leaving Phil with a car salesman is like covering a baby goat in barbecue sauce and dropping it in the middle of the Serengeti.”But the salesman is a decent guy. He explains he cannot lower the price further or throw in extras. Jay forces Phil to walk out on the deal, assuring Phil that the salesman will come after them with a better price.Indeed, the salesman did pursue them into the parking lot, but only to hand Jay a pair of sunglasses he believed Jay forgot. The joke is they were not Jay’s sunglasses, so Jay already felt vindicated by nabbing a free pair of sunglasses out of the deal.On to a different Toyota dealership the men go.This time, a new salesman informs them that he cannot beat the first store’s deal even during its big “hot dogathon” sales event. He says that first dealer was “losing money on the deal.” He advises Phil and Jay (while on his third free hot dog) to return and take that first deal, “if you can still get it.”Jay announces to Phil that he’s “going old school” on this salesman. He will wear the salesman down until he gives Jay a deal.But, alas, Jay ends up paying more for the car than he would have at the first dealership, merely to save his pride in front of Phil.Product placementPhil’s daughter, Haley, gets her new red Toyota Corolla and everyone ends up happy.I bet Toyota and car dealers are happy. Toyota is clearly the car of choice for the Pritchett-Dunphy clan on “Modern Family.” Jay’s son, Mitchell Pritchett, and his husband, Cameron Tucker, drive a Prius, for example. The car has been featured as part of the show’s storyline in the past.Toyota does have an existing product placement relationship with “Modern Family,” a company spokesperson said. But I wonder how much influence Toyota has in the storyline.“We brief the show’s creative and production teams at the beginning of the season on our new vehicles and their key features,” said Jaymie Robinson, a Toyota marketing spokeswoman, in an email. “Based on this information, the ‘Modern Family’ team then integrates the product into the storyline at their discretion.”Robinson said the writers have “creative license” but “we collaborate with them to ensure our products are accurately portrayed.”The car was accurately portrayed in my laymen’s view as a “Modern Family” fan. It was a cute car fit for a young woman.But, wow, the show’s writing team must really like car dealerships.The ones in this episode were portrayed in a very good light. The salesmen were honest, genuinely offering the best deal they can. There was even a woman selling cars at the one dealership. Given that women comprise an average of just 9 percent of car sales consultant jobs nationally, that was probably an example of the creative license Robinson referred to.Meanwhile, Jay was portrayed as a curmudgeon whose desire to haggle over a car purchase was an outdated throwback to the 1970s.I say keep it up carmakers. Using product placement wisely not only touts your product, but it can reshape public perception of the dealership network.

Toyota, dealers get pop culture boost on 'Modern Family'

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