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Toyota’s Latest Campaign Combats Air Pollution with Smog-Reducing Billboards

By Libby MacCarthy | Published 7 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is changing the way we think about mobility. The effectiveness of fuel cells in reducing emissions speaks for itself — the vehicles emit nothing but water vapor — which is leading more companies to invest in hydrogen for a low-carbon future. Toyota has long been a leader in the transition away from fossil fuels. While electric vehicles (EVs) have largely been the brand’s bread and butter, the introduction of the Mirai, the automaker’s first fuel cell car, and new plans to expand hydrogen infrastructure throughout Germany, the UK and the US demonstrates the brand’s commitment to driving forward the technology.

Now, Toyota is taking that commitment even further with an eco-billboard campaign for its Toyota Mirai. In partnership with outdoor advertising corporation Clear Channel Outdoor Americas, the brand will install 37 billboards in Los Angeles and San Francisco which will create 24,960 square feet of pollution scrubbing surface and reverse the equivalent of 5,285 vehicles worth of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions per month. NOx is a key component of acid rain and smog.

The “catalytic converter” of billboards uses a titanium dioxide coated vinyl to purify the surrounding air. When oxygen reacts with the energized titanium dioxide catalyst, NOx is converted to nitrate and removed from the air. The light-activated, smog-reducing billboards continue to purify the air as long as light, humidity, airflow and the titanium dioxide coating are present.

“Toyota consistently searches for new environmental technologies across all operations. When Clear Channel Outdoor Americas brought us the opportunity, we saw it as a perfect match,” said Mark Angelacos, advanced technology general manager, Toyota North America, Inc. “This new campaign delivers Toyota Mirai’s ‘vehicle of change’ message on a medium that lives up to that promise.”

PURETi Group, LLC developed the titanium dioxide coating technology used on the eco-billboards and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas has exclusive usage rights in the outdoor advertising category.

“We are pleased to offer our environmentally conscious clients, like Toyota, an even more eco-friendly printed vinyl option for their Out-of-Home (OOH) media campaign,” said Gene Leehan, executive vice president and senior regional president, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas. “This campaign marks a U.S. first for the use of this technology on OOH and we look forward to making it available to other like-minded advertisers.”

Toyota highlighted the eco-billboard campaign during the first Environmental Media Association Impact Summit in Beverly Hills, Calif. A Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, wrapped with the titanium dioxide coated vinyl, purified the air as guests entered the event.