Toyota’s Super Bowl ad features moving story of Paralympian Jessica Long

You won’t see any cars in Toyota‘s Super Bowl ad this year. 

The automaker will air a 60-second spot titled “Upstream” in the second quarter of Sunday’s game to tell the story of Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long. The athlete is part of Team Toyota. The company said it wants to share an “uplifting message of hope and strength.”

The ad featuring Long, who was adopted by an American couple from a Russian orphanage, depicts a phone call about how Long needed to have her legs amputated due to a rare condition called fibular hemimelia. Long didn’t have fibulas, ankles, heels and most of the other bones in her feet.

The spot ends with the line, “We believe there is hope and strength in all of us.” The company worked with its agency, Publicis‘ Saatchi & Saatchi. 

Toyota is among a growing group of advertisers sharing their Super Bowl ads ahead of the game this Sunday.

Toyota said it will also display a five-second ad encouraging people to “practice social responsibility” by following CDC guidelines, including wearing masks, social distancing and getting the vaccine when they’re able. 

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