Taylor Swift’s Chinese Toyota Commercials Are Awkward Beyond Your “Wildest Dreams”

Taylor Swift’s Chinese Toyota Commercials Are Awkward Beyond Your “Wildest Dreams”

Taylor Swift took the best song off 1989 and turned it into a Toyota commercial, joining the long legacy of American celebrities appearing in foreign TV spots they’d never agree to stateside. The ad uses “Wildest Dreams” to promote Toyota’s newest hybrid car in the Chinese market. There’s two versions of the ad, but both involve Taylor in gorgeous ball gowns — “standing in a nice dress,” per the song’s lyrics — ushering in the new vehicles. The first commercial uses the song in its original album version, but the second opts for a stripped back piano take. Plenty of people have dubbed “Wildest Dreams” Swift’s attempt at making a Lana Del Rey song, but the piano version kind of disproves that idea to my ear. Obviously, Swift is more than comfortable pairing with various brands; she’s already a rep for both Keds and Diet Coke, and another 1989 favorite “Style” first debuted in a Target commercial. This is also not the first time Taylor has teamed with Toyota. And as far as the Chinese car commercial route, Swift is merely following in ex-boyfriend Harry Styles’ footsteps.

1989 is out now on Big Machine.

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