Dive Brief:
- Lexus is highlighting diverse communities in its latest marketing campaign, “Never Lose Your Edge,” per a press release. The push is meant to promote the 2023 Lexus RX.
- The brand’s biggest audio investment to date, “Never Lose Your Edge” spots highlight minority communities and trailblazers across Hispanic, Black and LQBTQ+ demographics, among others, with a message to fight against complacency.
- The campaign follows other diversity-centered efforts by Lexus and will also feature influencer marketing and immersive out-of-home (OOH) activations. The push also teases new media partnerships with Amazon Ads and Whole Foods, Spartan Race and Well+Good.
Dive Insight:
Lexus casts a wide net with its new campaign highlighting the latest version of its 20-year-old Lexus RX. Notably, “Never Lose Your Edge” boasts a slew of ads featuring multicultural casts and trailblazers in an effort to appeal to the next generation of consumers and is backed by major ad spend.
Six ads comprise Lexus’ diversity push. One spot, “Quiet Night,” depicts a Black visionary finding inspiration to try something new. Another, “Radio Duel,” is meant to highlight the ever-evolving nature of the Hispanic community. A third spot, “Extra” celebrates LGBT culture in a playful dialogue that showcases the RX’s “extra” features. “Drive Within Us” features American-Korean actor Daniel Dae Kim and his son Zander paying homage to generational ties and influences and another spot, “See the Future” stars former Miss Great Britain Preeti Desai, the first of Indian-descent to win the title, giving a sherani and sari a modern flair with her designs. One of the six ads is designated for a broader appeal: “Unfollow” posits the idea of taking the Lexus RX off the beaten track, using The Wizard of Oz as a metaphor.
“Never Lose Your Edge” will also see an influencer marketing activation, enlisting 27 personalities and influencers across industries including fashion, sports, fitness and culinary. The campaign additionally marks new partnerships for the automaker, with five custom media programs teased to release in coming months.
In a partnership with Amazon Ads and Whole Foods Market, Lexus will create on-demand content for Amazon Fire TV featuring culinary artists Ludo Lefebvre and Dean Fearing preparing tailgate foods with the Lexus RX integrated in the video. In person, shoppers at Whole Foods Market will have the opportunity to try the foods, see the new car and talk with the chefs in Glendale, California Oct. 7 and Austin, Texas, on Oct. 15. Lexus will also partner with obstacle challenge Spartan Race for on-site branding and a special challenge, the Lexus Discomfort Zone, which will challenge consumers with tasks like a cold plunge and compression recovery. A partnership with Well+Good will add a wellness arm and feature a custom video that showcases the RX.
“The diverse and multifaceted campaign strategy is designed to highlight the vehicle’s bold design, intuitive technology, and performance-driven electrification through thoughtful activations and collaborations that allow us to connect directly with RX drivers,” said Vinay Shahani, vice president of Lexus marketing, in the release.
Such a diversity-centered approach rides on the heels of like-minded efforts by the brand as of recent. This week, Lexus unveiled a promotion for its first-ever battery-electric vehicle, the Lexus RZ 450E, with a tie-in to the highly anticipated debut of Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” A 90-second spot pairs the vehicle with members of the Dora Milaje, the movie’s fictional royal guard.
