49ers QB Brock Purdy is new face of regional Toyota commercials

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is joining Buster Posey and Steve Young as the new lead spokesman for Toyota’s/ Northern California commercials

Brock Purdy has joined a club that is even more exclusive than the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterbacks: Toyota’s top pitchmen.

Purdy is the new face of Toyota’s Northern California advertisements, becoming only the third Bay Area athlete in the last 20 years to be featured in the Japanese automaker’s regional advertisements.

Toyota previously made Steve Young and Buster Posey the focal points of their campaigns for several years. However, after Posey’s retirement at the end of the 2021 season, Toyota Dealer Association president Dave Johnston stated that he and Trey Curtola, chairman of H/L Agency, spent the year planning their next campaign.

“There was nothing that really stood out, and then, bam, this lightning rod kid comes out of nowhere and leads the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game,” said Johnston. “Nothing is more electrifying and magnetic than a quarterback in the NFL.” Football is a must-see for everyone, and the quarterback is the best.”

Purdy’s rise from the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to one of 32 starting quarterbacks by 2023 is a compelling story. It’s also ideal for the 49ers’ salary cap management, as Purdy is under contract for only $3.6 million over his first four years in the league.

Purdy, on the other hand, can make up for lost revenue through marketing deals. Purdy recently signed a deal with Alaska Airlines to be “the QB’s official airline,” giving any 49ers fan who wears Purdy’s jersey to an Alaska flight out of the Bay Area priority boarding.

Purdy’s agent, Kyle Strongin, stated that the 23-year-old quarterback has been picky about his sponsorships.

“I think the marketing piece is important, but Brock and I aren’t trying to do everything in this space,” Strongin explained. “For us, it’s more about partnerships and the character that Brock is, as well as the character of the brands that he’s affiliating himself with.”

Toyota “seemed like a really natural and really easy fit” for Purdy, who drives a red Toyota Tundra in the new commercials, according to Strongin.

Of course, the Toyota commercials with Posey took some time to develop. Curtola said the catcher’s dry sense of humour allowed them to bring in others from his inner circle to help produce classic commercials, including his wife Kristen, Giants announcers Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, and, perhaps most famously, manager Bruce Bochy.

“We had to learn his personality and not make him something that he wasn’t, so those little comedic moments were all [Posey],” Curtola explained. “Our formula is to figure out what the person is like, and then you can take various paths from there.”

The first Purdy commercial will air on Sunday, the same day the 49ers play the Rams in a Bay-versus-LA rivalry game, and the initial filming session will result in 30 different television spots and social media assets.

All parties involved, as with Young and Posey previously, expect this to be a multi-year partnership.

“We don’t do this lightly; we look for the long term,” Johnston explained. “We go into this thinking that we’re hoping Brock will be the 49ers’ quarterback for the next 10-plus years, and hopefully we’ll be right there with him.”