Lexus brings passion to the luxury car market with new campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney
Until now the quiet achiever in the luxury car market, Lexus has abandoned its function over form approach and emerged with a stylish new range of vehicles, and a bold new advertising campaign determined to take on the Germans.
The aspirational new brand campaign from Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, injects bold new feelings of passion and desire into Lexus’ image.
Specifically, ‘waku doki’- a Japanese term, President and Chief Executive of parent company Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda, is fond of. Literally translating to ‘heart-pumping’ or ‘adrenaline racing’, Toyoda sees it as the must-have factor for all Lexus vehicles designed on his watch.
“People are already talking about the re-invention of the brand,” says Lexus Australia Corporate Manager of Marketing and After Sales, Peter Evans.
“This new Lexus range gives drivers a complete experience; pride, passion and performance, in one very elegant package.”
Saatchi & Saatchi ECD Damon Stapleton says that reaching the trend-setting, technology-savvy, fast-moving, 35+ audience that Lexus seeks to impress, requires a very genuine approach: “Let’s face it, we drive luxury cars because of how it makes us feel, so we thought it was important to find a way to share what driving a Lexus actually feels like,” he says.
The Lexus 2012 campaign begins with the launch of the flagship all-new GS followed by campaigns for the entire range incorporating TV, print, point of sale and digital media.
The campaign is a bold move for a brand that has run under the radar in the luxury vehicle space in recent years.
“We felt that it was time to cement the Lexus brand to the luxury status the vehicles command,” says Evans.
With the W-factor at the core of the new range Lexus plans to bring a bit of swagger to the brand, and capture the hearts and minds of drivers looking for new, exhilarating challenges and opportunities.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Damon Stapleton
Creative Director: Steve Carlin
Creative: Nils Eberhardt
Executive Planning Director: Jason Lonsdale
Planning team: Jonathan Daly/Bonnie MacTavish
Group Account Director: Jasmin Barnes
Account Director: Lizzy Bourke
Production Company: @radical.media
Director: Christian Aeby
Executive Producers: Ian Fowler & Holly Alexander
Producer: Melissa Weinman
DoP: Robert Humphreys
Editor: Simon Njoo – Method Studios
VFX: Heckler
Digital: The White Agency
Photography: John Higginson
Lexus Australia:
Peter Evans
Yolande Waldock
61 Comments
Damn that’s a brave piece of work. Nice one Saatchi.
Stunning.
stunning work!
Take the money and RUN!!!!
How do you get to do those jobs! was there a client at all! .
Feels like Tony Kay was let loose again shooting completely irrelevant imagery non inspiring imagery… and no care for the client.
Sorry guys. Wank ad’s are so 90’s…
Vast improvement over the previous stuff (not that I can remember the previous stuff)
Oh what a FEELING Toyo..err.. Lexus.
BOOM!
Sure, these ads are visually stunning but say nothing.
Do they stir even the smallest urge to go and buy a Lexus? Not in the slightest.
Wouldn’t mind a swim in that living room though.
it’s very rare that you get a client brave enough
an agency clever enough
and a director talented enough
then to top it off a black keys track
absolutely killer!
The more work that we see come out of Saatchi with this new ECD, the less we have worry.
Really interesting. At least its not just a driving shot. Ignore the haters. Pushes Lexus forward.
I’d still prefer the feeling of driving this car in this ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c9GmwTiuGk
”so we thought it was important to find a way to share what driving a Lexus actually feels like,”
ie: use the visual metaphors approach, because we didn’t have a creative idea.
How on earth is this ad brave? There’s nothing original about it whatsoever.
What’s the big idea? Or any idea for that matter?
it’s an average car spot that could have come from 10 years ago. Getting the client to spunk a load of cash on a big track doesn’t make it clever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y4e7n2qc1M
No idea, just a lot of random, nicely shot shit, clunky voice over and people looking at the car like they just spilled their bickies. The resurrection of Saatchi is looking less likely with every piece of work the new ‘uber’ team put out there.
Isnt that just a mood video? The kinda thing the planners put together?
Could those who praise this spot please offer some explanation for their opinion? Put aside executional factors, such as film-making and music which are nothing exceptional and wouldn’t have been significant factors in the script.
I’m fascinated to know how you sell this sort of thing to the client. Unless the pressure came from the client to do this sort of advertising. It’s a nothing ad which could be for any car. Come to think of it, it could be for any number of products in non-car categories, which is even more damning.
You could argue that when you’re launching a so-called luxury brand, you do something airy-fairy to position it. But with Lexus on the market for decades, surely its advertising today should be more than a mood piece.
Not even an ‘uber’ team. More like a corporate cult these days.
Here come da haters
“If you have nothing to say, say it well.”
Makes me WANT a Lexus -works for me.
They dropped me.
Not hating, 3:11, discussing. There’s nothing remotely hateful in the opinions I’ve expressed, however advertising like this Lexus spot demands scrutiny. I don’t tend to play the man instead of the ball, but in your case, I’ll make an exception; you’re a twat. An inarticulate, infantile twat at that. Now, have you got something thoughtful to say, presumably in defence of this commercial, or are you incapable of expressing anything other than childish slogans?
These ads look good and say nothing. Fail.
Regardless of what we think Damon Stapleton believes this is how you reach the trend-setting, technology-savvy, fast-moving, 35+ audience.
Looks like mood reels are the future.
Regardless of the standard dross and negativity this blog attracts, this will make people feel differently about Lexus. Once we all realise that this is what we are ultimately paid to do, then maybe creatives may start to be taken seriously in this industry again.
May be you should start taking notes, the guy has more awards then anyone in this town, and I would suspect more than you. Put up or shut up if you’e going to get personal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30_7O8bJr9g&feature=relmfu
Brrrrrrr!
Love it fellas.
Crap
@ hey WTF
That’s not personal you moron – just stating what he said. You haven’t even bothered to read the quotes.
(Paragraph removed by CB)
AD FOOL!!!!
Your buttons are so easy to push. I love fucking with puerile little creative minds…
Dear WTF
Over the last couple of weeks I have seen The Monkeys take a pasting, Droga 5 get smashed and today it was our turn. Sadly, it reminds me of the quote by Gore Vidal, “It’s not enough that I succeed, others must fail”. Now, I believe you have every right not to like the work any agency makes. In fact, some of the less vitriolic comments are valid and we can learn from them.
However, when you start to question my reputation I think we move into another arena. So, when you say do your fucking research it would be good to be more specific about which work. I would be more than happy to meet you and tell you exactly how I was involved and who came up with the ideas.
All you have to do is put your name next to your comment. Like I did. I will even pay for the coffee.
Much fondness
Damon Stapleton
honestly dont know if i’d buy the new Lexus, couldn’t really see it amongst all the pretentious pouting, posing and clichéd art direction. saying absolutely nothing about a car with a lot to say. save this shit for the next toyota hatch…
Mr Stapleton,
Welcome To Joyville!
Dear Damon
Ignore them – they love nothing more than to see you bite.
There you have it.
Agency gets slammed, creatives get slaughtered, cient is criticized.
And the ECD only jumps in when his reputation is questioned.
Says it all really.
They were after bites and boy did they get a big one!!
Pity these creatives didn’t get the chocolate brief. This is great!
I would expect an ECD to rise above this grubby little blog.
Yes it’s a crowd, but if you follow it from time to time you will see that the haters often disappear when something good is put up on here. Instead of threatening people by offering them a coffee, maybe you should just post some decent work.
Very interesting Damon. Great to see you taking this head on. Just so we can all be enlightened (without leaving you with an enormous coffee tab), what valid comments are you referring to – and what learnings do you think you can take from them?
While you’re at it – I assume the same would apply to your recent Cadbury hammering. Any words of wisdom on how you could make that more joyful?
You, me, carpark…now!
So I was at my local Coles on the weekend, and saw a massive bin-end display of the new Cadbury-blocks-with-bits-in… it was nearly empty. Product sold out. Which, funnily enough, is what the ads we make are supposed to achieve.
With that result, I suspect Saatchis is more than happy to take a hammering from the anonymous trolls on this forum.
The new Cadbury-blocks-with-bits-in was probably on special
Fair point ‘I love chocolate’. But everyone knows Cadbury sells truckloads of chocolate regardless of the quality of their advertising.
Unfortunately for Lexus the same dynamic doesnt apply. Shame they can’t make their cars out of the sweet brown stuff!
In my opinion:
The Star spot is great, but unfortunately became mired in confusion over whether the Monkeys ripped off another artist’s interpretation of a song that they paid the original rights to use.
Droga 5’s spot got smashed because it’s a bad toilet gag from an agency that has a reputation for producing outstanding creative.
Saatchis got bagged because there’s an expectation the agency is on the rise once again following some recent hires/management changes etc. Unfortunately this Lexus spot feels like more of the same.
I think it’s fair enough to complain about the Haters on this blog.
But I get equally annoyed by empty praise heaped upon ads without any validation to back up those comments.
Why is this ad ‘interesting’ for example, or ‘brave’ (twice) and ‘stunning’ (twice)?
I agree ‘blog explained’. After relentless & often shameless self promotion from the new mob claiming to be the ‘chosen ones’ after only a few months in the job – what do Saatchi’s expect!?
The irony is, despite the well documented tough times the agency had fallen on before they arrived on their ‘white horses, the actual creative standard in recent years hasn’t been all that bad all things considering. Weren’t they the Award creative agency of year in 2010? This capping off what I am told was a year that saw their most successful international awards haul in the agency’s proud history – including 5 gold lions!
My humble advice to Saatchi’s would be to just put your heads down & try to deliver great creative work – starting with work that comes even close to the likes of that Toyota ‘border security’ & ‘beer economy” work the agency produced a couple of years back.
Go on – have a go at walking your talk boys! After all that’s the only way you’re going to get anyone to truly believe in you meteoric turn around story!
Hear Hear!
And management should stop releasing destructive articles, which denigrate previous employees who are attempting to find work.
Unnecessary and undignified.
Beautifully put, 12:17 (AKA The Blog Explained).
And Damon, Gore Vidal was paraphrasing – or perhaps plagiarising – Ghengis Khan, who famously said ‘It is not enough that I should win. Everyone else must be defeated.”
Which only proves how hard it is to be both creative and original.
Unfortunately this Lexus spot is neither.
Yes Mr ECD your turn did come, but lets compare apples with apples.
Monkeys got slated for appropriating a cover from an artist.
Saatchi on the other hand has been slammed for producing a shit ad.
Do you guys all bounce out of bed in the morning, excited about who you are going to shit-can that day on Campaign Brief? A bit more ‘group esteem’ needed, methinks.
It’s ads like this that depress me and our industry, not people’s opinions.
Note to Agency PR release proof-reader.
Please check the name of the client that’s been paying the bills for the last 10 years.
Hint: it’s not the name of a Star Wars character with which children can play.
Oh deer oh deer oh deer.
Note to self: Don’t be a douche and write ‘witty’ comments until you’ve actually read the piece and taken in the fact that the client’s name is, in fact, Toyoda. Still funny. But still a fail.
Note to Pendant.
Please check the history of the company before you slag off the PR release proof-reader.
Hint: ‘Toyota Motor Company’ was founded by ‘Kiichiro Toyoda’ – easier to write in Japanese characters. Akio is his grandson.
Oh, and if you’re such a pendant: It’s “the name of the client WHO’s been paying the bills for the last 10 years.”
It’s also ‘Oh dear’ not ‘Oh deer’.
Silly ignoramus, Pedant. How embarrassment!
It’s also ‘Oh dear’ not ‘Oh deer’.
Unless, 12:07, it’s that commercial for Tooheys (the one with the deer).
Almost average but not quite