FLASHBACK: JUST IN: Toyota Venza girl does an ad for eBay

September 18, 2011 by Jacqui Barrineau 11 Comments

UPDATE 8-12-12: Allyn Rachel, aka the Toyota Venza girl, is angry about Triscuits.

UPDATE 11-03-2011: Like the ad? Show Allyn Rachel the love on her Facebook page.

ED’S NOTE: This post reflects my interest in advertising as a marketing student. The opinions expressed here are mine and in no way reflect the opinions of my employers.

* * * * * * * *

UPDATED with details 9-20-2011

Googlers have been hitting this site to see whether the “Toyota Venza girl” is also featured in the recent eBay commercial entitled “Blue Jeans.”

She is — as you can see here. ~~I don’t have any information about this clip right now, but I’ll see what I can dig up.~~ She plays Susie, the daughter with the super hip mobile device ~~iPad~~.

(Post continues after video.)

This commercial is part of eBay’s “When it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay” campaign designed to expand the ecommerce giant’s footprint in mobile commerce, a daunting task for a company seen primarily as an auction marketplace. With the “Buy It New, Buy It Now” call to action, eBay urges shoppers to take advantage of the 62% of 200 million live listings that are “fixed price,” and the 70% of those products that are new. (Like the new jeans that actress Allyn Rachel orders in the commercial.)

According to the press release announcing the campaign, eBay is targeting the “shopping enthusiasts,” the category of shopper who are most likely to shop using mobile devices. The first step in reaching those shoppers is through legacy media: Six 30-second TV commercials began airing Sept. 14 on national cable network shows including Top Gear, SportsCenter, Tosh.0, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Top Chef and The Rachel Zoe Project — about the time Googlers started hitting this site looking for more information about the actress and the “Blue Jeans” ad.

At the time of this update ~~writing~~, this YouTube video (posted Sept. 17) had 1,271 ~~379~~ views, 3 1 likes and 0 dislikes.

AGENCY: Venables Bell & Partners, the folks who convinced us that Slim Jims are “mantastic!”

* * * * * * * *

See more of Allyn Rachel’s work on YouTube, Twitter, this blog and other Web 2.0 outlets.

UPDATE 10-27-2011: Ally Rachel on Twitter

EARLIER:Toyota Venza Girl on MSN

EARLIER: Toyota Venza Girl on Yahoo!

EARLIER: More on the girl in Toyota Venza commercial

EVEN EARLIER: Toyota Venza: ‘That’s not a real puppy’

RELATED: How Lady Gaga helped me get off Facebook

Author: Jacqui Barrineau

Jacqui Barrineau is a writer and editor who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with husband Trey, a Shetland Sheepdog, and two unhelpful-but-funny cats. Her work has appeared in "So to Speak" and "Calliope," and she's a regular contributor to the flash-fiction sites Paragraph Planet and Doorknobs & Bodypaint. Once upon a time, she was the audience engagement editor at USA Today. Now she does other fun things that involve advertising, marketing and social media. The views expressed here and in other outlets are hers, not her employers'. Outside of work, she's proud to serve on the Northern Virginia Community College Marketing Advisory Committee. As a committee member, she joins industry leaders in lending their knowledge and expertise to ensure the college's Marketing curriculum is relevant and responsive to the needs of the students and the surrounding business communities.