The WiLL brand was a marketing approach shared by a small group of Japanese companies who decided to offer products and services that focused on a younger demographic from August 1999 until July 2004 in Japan. The companies that participated were the Kao Corporation (a manufacturer of personal hygiene, household detergents, and cosmetics), Toyota, Asahi Breweries, Panasonic, Kinki Nippon Tourist Company, Ltd, Ezaki Glico Candy, and Kokuyo Co., Ltd. (an office furniture and stationery manufacturer). Toyota also engaged in a similar "youth oriented" approach in North America, with the Project Genesis program. This selective marketing experiment reflected a Japanese engineering philosophy called Kansei engineering, which was used by other Japanese companies. All products were listed online at "willshop.com".
WiLL-branded products or services
Asahi
WiLL be Free
WiLL Via Smooth
WiLL Sweet Brown Beer
Ezaki Glico
WiLL ice for relax
WiLL on time chocolate
WiLL tablet relax
WiLL black beans candy
Kao
WiLL clear mist
WiLL air freshener
WiLL OneWeek room freshener
Panasonic
WiLL Fax Machine ( WiLL Fax KX-FKN110 ) and attached handset ( KX-PW110CL ) WiLL Collapsible Bike (WiLL Bike, later WiLL E-Bike, battery powered) WiLL Mini Fridge (WiLL Fridge NR-B162R) WiLL Vacuum Cleaner (WiLL Cleaner) WiLL Desktop PC with LCD Display (WiLL PC) WiLL Alkaline ion water conditioner (WiLL A-Pure PJ-A301) WiLL Air purifier (WiLL Ion Conditioner) WiLL Microwave (WiLL Range) WiLL Full automatic washing machine with drying function (WiLL Laundry) WiLL seat cushion heater (WiLL Cushion Heater) WiLL Portable MD Player (WiLL MD) WiLL SD Multi Camera (WiLL D-Snap) WiLL DVD stereo system (WiLL Theater) WiLL Video built-in type TV (WiLL Tele-Video)
Kokuyo
WiLL stationery "Actic" Kinki Nippon Tourist WiLL City and Resort Tour WiLL Tour Hokkaido WiLL Tour Kyushu WiLL Tour Okinawa Will Sports Tour
WiLL vehicles (Toyota) Toyota offered three individually designed cars, based on the mechanicals of existing Toyota models. The series was intended to appeal to markets that were not covered by Toyota's mainstream range, and to discover how commercially feasible such unusual designs were. The American Scion range is based on a similar concept. All WiLL vehicles were only sold in Japan, and only at Toyota Vista Store locations. When the WiLL project ended in 2004, Toyota stopped producing WiLL-branded vehicles, and renamed the Toyota Vista dealerships to Toyota NETZ, that coincided with the launch of the North American introduction of Scion, using lessons learned from the WiLL project.
WiLL Vi
The WiLL Vi is a subcompact car, produced from 2000 to 2001, with distinctive styling combining elements of many cars. The WiLL Vi was designed by the then newly formed Virtual Venture Company, headed by Jim Shimizu. The unique-appearing rear window had earlier appeared on the Mazda Carol, the Ford Anglia (1959–1968), and the Citroen Ami. The "neo-retro" look represented a period in Japan where vehicles took on the styling of historic vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Nissan Be-1, Nissan Figaro, Nissan S-Cargo, Nissan Pao, the Toyota Origin, the Subaru Vivio Bistro, and the Mitsubishi Minica Town Bee. The curve of the tail section is also similar to that of the second generation of the Renault Mégane.
The car was equipped with MacPherson struts for the front wheels and a torsion beam axle for the rear wheels. The car was painted in a number of pastel colors, and the plastic wheel covers resemble sand dollars. One of the few options was a canvas sliding roof, and the vehicle was installed with bench seats for both front and rear passengers, with the gearshift installed on the dashboard.
Sales were disappointing, so the Vi was replaced by the WiLL Cypha.
WiLL VS
The WiLL VS was first introduced in 2001. It was formally introduced at the 2001 Los Angeles Auto Show, as a precursor to the introduction of Scion to North America, and sales in the Japanese market in April of that year under a massive publicity campaign with British electronic group Underworld. The TV commercial featured their hit, "Born Slippy," originally released six years prior. The WiLL VS was manufactured at Kanto Auto Works. Inspiration for the design of the WiLL VS was said to have been derived from the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. It also has many appearance similarities to the Renault Avantime.