Problem: Your product has nothing to do with video games, but you’d still like to market it to the tens of thousands of gamers at E3.

Solution: Arrange to have your product prominently displayed at some of the game media booths at the show.

Three separate media outlets — G4, UGO and GameSpot — all had Toyota cars almost inexplicably tied to their booths at this year’s show. The cars all featured the hosting outlet’s logo somewhere, but for the most part were decorated like large, out-of-place Toyota billboards in the middle of what was otherwise not an auto show.

It’s hard to fault Toyota for wanting to market to the key gamer demographic at the industry’s largest trade show, but why did media outlets have to be the ones to give them the space to do it. Oh… probably because the other booths were busy actually, y’know, promoting their company’s products and not someone else’s. Then again, those other companies weren’t dependent on selling advertising to people like Toyota. Hmmm…

More pictures and descriptions of the Toyota promotions after the jump.

G4

This Toyota Scion convertible was on prominent display in front of the entrance to South Hall, a few yards away from G4’s soundstage. The car is improbably decked out with three video screens, including one on the inside of the open hood. When I visited, an attendant was available to encourage me to have a seat in the car, but was unhelpful when I asked what the car had to do with G4. Moving on…

UGO

In contrast to the huge logo on the G4 Scion (see above), UGO’s Toyota Yaris surprisingly had only one small UGO logo on the front bumper. Otherwise, the car was covered with Toyota logos and art, much like the vinyl bags that UGO handed out during the show.

Still, the car was actually an integral part of UGO’s E3 booth, housing major attraction Geometry Wars through large screen and four mini-speakers mounted in the trunk. Slightly more plausible than G4’s multi-screen Toyota set up, but only a little.. Does Toyota think people are clamoring to have console-equipped video screen all over their cars?

More UGO Yaris photos: Gather ’round the car and play some games; Closed up at show’s end

GameSpot

GameSpot’s Yarises (Yarii?) were part of the outlet’s Shoot to Win contest, a completely separate booth set off in a lonely corner of West Hall. According to a contest attendant, over 2500 put a miniature basketball in a standard size hoop to win one of the two, um, Yarums or a $1000 Best Buy shopping spree. There were subtle Gamespot logos on the cars, but mainly they were decked out with Yaris mascot art like the UGO car. At least they didn’t try to insert some sort of video screen in the thing… (Full disclosure — I have written for GameSpot in the past).

More Gamespot Yaris pictures: Close up of door, Shoot to Win contest logo