Lexus goes off the beaten path for 2023 RX campaign debut

October 5, 2022

"Never Lose Your Edge" taps influential figures across fashion, sports, fitness and culinary to promote the latest edition of its bestselling model. Image courtesy of Lexus

By Amirah Keaton

Toyota Corp.’s Lexus is challenging the status quo for SUVs with a multi-part marketing effort for the all-new version of one of its best-selling vehicles.

The automaker wants audiences to take the road less traveled, as denoted in a message emblematic of the nature of its newest ride, the Lexus 2023 RX. The luxury car company is rolling out its latest launch with a multi-part marketing effort, spotlighting 27 personalities and influencers across fashion, sports, fitness and culinary, all united by the campaign’s tag.

"'Never Lose Your Edge' represents our relentless pursuit to improve the RX with each generation, while also reflecting the hardworking, successful and thoughtful RX driver," said Vinay Shahani, vice president of marketing at Lexus, in a statement.

"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."

Redefining crossover conventions
Rooted in a drive to improve endemic to its core values, Lexus brings the spirit of optimization to a wide range of potential customers.

The campaign is inclusive of demographic-specific digital films, from the campaign's main asset, a general market video modeled after the adventure-ridden ethos of "The Wizard of Oz," to content for consumers of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ and multinational communities.

A contemporary mock-movie cast follows the yellow brick road to the tune of Andrew Lloyd Weber's iconic musical score in the brand's latest concept.

"The Lexus RX: Unfollow | Lexus", the automaker's main campaign video

Of the family unit featured front-and-center as the video starts, all but its youngest appear glued to their phones in the 21st-century rendition. The matriarch of the group raises her smartwatch up to eye level, before scanning and selecting a "start" button from a list of menu options enabling remote control of the Lexus parked across a golden path.

The crossover emits Lexus' familiar two beeps, flashing headlights to signal success and with that, car and driver are off.

In a subsequent scene, the camera pans out to reveal the full scope of a magical, winding path. The fairytale-like road splits a bustling metropolitan area down the middle.

Shown throughout the video in a cool Copper Crest color, Lexus' latest RX stands out.

Next, the modern family is pictured seated inside the car, all glued to their individual screens as its driver peers out into the distance, squinting slowly as an off-colored road comes into view.

The spot's Toto suddenly barks as the group approaches a crossroads, in more ways than one. An orange road appears to the right, as the driver zooms in on her Lexus Interface System, the Cloud Navigation's real-time route information on display.

"What if we," she starts suggestively, before literally veering onto the path less traveled.

A comtemporary update on the spot's sonic's marks its rising action point, as the nuclear family emerge from an underpass, onto a bridge and back off, venturing deeper into hillside bliss. Headphones are removed and screens put down as the wonder that surrounds the group is realized.

The group drives the RX 500h Sport Performance AWD variety of Lexus' latest launch, activating its varying features along the way.

Voice-activated media controls are used to turn up the remixed track. The vehicle's 366 total system horsepower roars to life upon acceleration.

Between candy-coated reverie and bursts of energy, the car transforms its once-uninterested riders into exhilerated explorers. The family makes a final stop countryside, exiting the RX in liberated fashion, as they run through fields in pursuit of a foreign hilltop city, marking the video's finale.

"There's no place like the unknown," says the narrator, playing off of Dorothy's line and eventual saving grace.

"The all new Lexus RX," he says. "Never lose your edge."

Additional video content targets specific segments including Black and Hispanic consumers, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals of varying nationalities. A clip stars Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim and his actual son, while another is led by British actress and model of Indian descent, former Miss Great Britain Preeti Desai.

"The Lexus RX: Quiet Night | Lexus" showcases a Black visionary on a quest to carve out a legacy on his own terms, tapping the RX's tech-forward features

"The Lexus RX: Extra | Lexus" celebrates what makes us all unique, in a nod to the LGBTQ+ community

Digital content aside, Lexus has commissioned five custom media programs with partners like Amazon Ads and Whole Foods Market, obstacle series Spartan Race and media platform Well + Good on custom on-demand video content for Fire TV viewers, custom video content highlighting members of the Spartan community and talent-led custom video with its exclusive wellness partner, respectively, spotlighting 27 personalities and influencers across fashion, sports, fitness and culinary.

The range of content and category is sure to make a wide appeal and lasting impact.

Lexus lookback
Lexus debuted the first RX over two decades ago, in a move that permanently redefined the luxury crossover space.

This year's fifth generation RX established a few key features, including a revamped body providing a lighter, lower center of gravity. The 2022 RX and was the first of its crossover models with available advanced park, and a Lexus first in traffic jam assist (see story).

The introduction of a spindle body, as opposed to a spindle grille, and internal tazuna concept which brings all essential controls and information directly within the driver’s reach and sightline for convenience and safety, also served as a reflection of new strides in Lexus design.

The 2023 RX launch coincides with an integrated partnership with Marvel's Black Panther sequel film.

Toyota Corp.’s Lexus has debuted its first ever battery electric vehicle in a long form campaign video, “An Electric Future,” which will premiere in the near future.

The Oct. 1 teaser trailer release of “An Electric Future”, a theatrical collaboration with the Marvel franchise marked the debut of a new climate friendly car model, the luxury carmaker's first all-electric option, the 2023 Lexus RZ 450e (see story).

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