The hybrid Toyota Prius has long had a reputation for being a “greener” car and wanted to promote the fact that a sun roof is available in the 3rd generation Prius which is due to launch in 2010 as well as emphasise its latest marketing theme: "Harmony between man, nature and machine." The idea is that people still want to be able to have personal vehicle to travel - they don't want to give up their cars - but they are willing to find a more sustainable way of doing so.
Prius has formed a partnership with various North American cities to provide enormous flowers in public squares. The flower sculptures, which stand at up to 18 feet high, collect solar energy through panels on the back of their petals and
the base of their stems. Each flower also has seating for up to 10 people. They offer people the chance to charge their laptops or mobile phones while sitting outside in the sun. The flowers also provided solar-powered WiFi, enabling people to surf the web at the same time. The message on the flowers read: “it’s all powered by the sun like the optional Solar Roof in the 3rd generation Prius”.
Boston bus riders are also treated to solar ventilation bus shelters in the downtown area as part of the “Harmony Installation” campaign. The special shelters feature solar panels on the roof that run fans to circulate air within the shelter. The shelters aim to imitate the Prius’s Solar Ventilation System.
The flowers are touring cities including Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles between July and October. All of the activity will be documented on Twitter and Facebook.
