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By John Glenday, Reporter

January 26, 2023 | 4 min read

Auto brand Lexus has taken a page from the big screen playbook for its latest ad campaign, an all-action set piece which will push audiences to the edge of their seat.

Lexus has gone straight for the jugular with ‘Stay Ahead’, placing the new Lexus RX front and center. The pulse-pounding piece serves to familiarize audiences with hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants with trailer-style social films and a cinematic hero ad inspired by European spy thrillers.

Shot on location in Girona, Spain, the exotic scenery provides an exhilarating backdrop to a traditional car chase as characters put the Lexus RX through its paces in pursuit of a vital briefcase.

Proving its cinematic chops an extended film for the big screen has also been produced.

Lauding the latest iteration of the high-end SUV Tommaso Grassi, head of communication at Lexus Europe, said: “For the launch of the fifth generation, we wanted a campaign that captures its ‘Stay Ahead’ philosophy, celebrating the similarities between a state-of-the-art car that is inherently forward-thinking and iconic, and an audience that embodies the ethos of ‘Stay Ahead’ in all aspects of their life.”

Frances Draskau, creative director at The&Partnership, added: “The Lexus RX is a powerhouse of a luxury vehicle and deserved a storyline worthy of its action-packed credentials. With ‘Stay Ahead’, we’ve gone all in, deploying the advanced technology of the new RX through each asset to deliver our hero in signature Lexus style.”

Audiences are invited to take the wheel in an accompanying prize-giving interactive film as part of a multi-channel outreach effort including TV, digital and social in 54 European markets. The car marks Lexus’s penchant for film, which previously bore fruit in a partnership with sci-fi action flick Moonfall.

Credits

  • Client: Lexus

  • Senior client: Tommaso Grassi

  • Senior manager, brand and marketing communication: Loïc Charlon

  • Marketing specialist: Daria Fateeva

  • Agency: The & Partnership

  • CEO: Nick Howarth

  • Managing director: Sam Lewis

  • Global ECD: Andre Moreira

  • Creative director: Frances Draskau

  • Creatives: Guus TerBeek and Tayfun Sarier

  • Senior art director: Phill Fields

  • Head of planning: Oliver Egan

  • Planning director: Alex Fennemore

  • Business director: Josie Jenkins/ Gavin Fullick

  • Senior account director: Lizzie Napper

  • Account director: Luke Martins

  • Account manager: Camille Le Senne

  • Account executive: Sadek Hossain

  • Head of integrated production: Thea Evely

  • Head of art buying: Emma Modler

  • Producer: Liz Griffin/Charlie Thacker

  • Project manager: Georgina Ingham-Clark

  • Production company: Rogue Films

  • Director: Mark Jenkinson

  • Producer: Tom Farley and Charlie Crompton

  • Director of photography: Bernd Wondollek

  • Editors: Iain Whitewright

  • Offline producer Julian Marshall

  • Post-production: ETC

  • Senior post producer: Antonia Vlasto

  • Post producer: Amie Kingsnorth

  • VFX supervisor: Scott Ryan

  • CG supervisor: N/A

  • Shoot supervisor and compositor: Ruben Llusia

  • Motion design: N/A

  • Audio post-production: King Leah

  • Sound engineer: Jack Sedgewick

  • Music supervision: James Radford

  • Composer: James Radford

Brand Strategy Lexus Marketing

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