Swag as propaganda

What's a press event without a belt buckle the size of Texas?

As we filed out of the Toyota press event, our brains still struggling to comprehend what we'd just heard (in a nutshell: "the Tundra is an American truck built for Americans in America using American know-how. GO AMERICA. Did we mention America?"), we sauntered over to the table where anonymously pretty ladies and grizzled, beer-gutted PR dudes were passing out press kits. There, we got the information we sought, but also something else: A small, velveteen satchel heavy with the weight of a Japanese automotive giant's hopes. Dreams. Desires for truck-y success.

Loosening the bag's drawstrings, we were breathless with anticipation. Was it a small marble statue of President Bush? Was it a gold-plated bald eagle? Was it a bag full of shotgun shells?

It wasn't a statue. It wasn't a bald eagle. And it wasn't shotgun shells. It was a belt buckle. With "Tundra" emblazoned across it's buckle-y face.

(Have you heard that Toyota is American now?)