• by Karl Greenberg , September 10, 2015

Lincoln is launching a new series of digital and TV spots for the 2016 MKX crossover. Matthew McConaughey, for whom this will be the third Lincoln campaign, returns in several ads in settings that would look right for a coffee table book, on a coffee table in a house by James Speyer. 

Following up on a campaign earlier this year in which he appeared behind the wheel of the MKZ sedan, the actor is back on the road, but this time his presence doesn't come with his voiceover. And he isn't in a diner waiting for the rain to stop so he can drive with the moon roof rolled back, as he was in a one of two ads early this year for the mid-size sedan. 

And there's a new director this time out in Gus Van Sant, famous for movies like “My Own Private Idaho,” “Drugstore Cowboy,” and “Goodwill Hunting.” He replaces Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, who did the MKZ spots. 

The effort, via New York-based dedicated shop Hudson Rouge, is all about the feeling, but the focus is on how the vehicle’s features and surprise-and-delights are an extension from personal space to the driveway: from his personal accessories — his cufflinks, watch, apparel, shoes — to the car’s key-fob, which he palms as he strolls out, to the MKX, giving the general feeling that the MKX is another personal statement. Another spot one shows him at his destination: a card game with friends. Tag: “The Feeling Stays With You.” 

Jon Pearce, global CCO at Hudson Rouge, tells Marketing Daily that the idea for MKX was to create a body of work that stood apart from prior campaigns featuring the actor. “We wanted to give MKX its own approach. It's an important launch for Lincoln, so it was key to signal to consumers that they weren’t watching the same introspective, monologue-driven spots that they've already seen with Matthew.”

He says that first spot, showing McConaughey getting ready for an evening out, including shaving and even putting in a contact lens, is meant to be intimate in feel. “These are really uncommon images of a known celebrity, to see them -- especially in a commercial -- at these private moments.” 

He adds that the first two campaigns established intimacy with the actor through his internal dialogue, but that the new spots do it with visual storytelling. “Getting dressed to go out is a very solitary event,” he says. “It's about the details — which shoes, what goes with what…and then there's the preparation, like shaving and contact lenses. It's a process. It all makes for a great lead-in to being in a vehicle that's all about the details: the feel of the leather, the sound of the audio, the overall feel of it.” 

As for going with Van Sant — who has worked with McConaughey before — Pearce says it allowed Lincoln to create a fresh perspective. “[Refn] did a great job for Lincoln; but in an effort to separate the previous campaigns from the MKX launch, we decided the time was right to go to another great name in film direction. Gus brings both a familiarity with Matthew (and he with him), as well as a real gift for characterization and visual storytelling.” 

Pearce says that additional characters — friends around a table for a game of poker —  is also a new element. “[We] felt that Gus would draw out their relationships and interactions in a poignant way. Hopefully, these spots end up feeling a little more like film trailers than they do commercials…we're looking for these ads to continue the ‘lean forward’ experience we created with the MKC and MKZ work; where the spots are quietly interruptive.” 

Longer videos on Lincoln’s YouTube site tell the back stories of the three other characters in the ads, and tie their personal stories and interests (music, athletics, art) into specific vehicle features. 

There is also new content on Lincoln.com, which has been pretty much completely redesigned to feature not only the vehicles, but people talking about and experiencing Lincoln vehicles for the first time. Besides content touting mobile-media apps, testimonials from a Lincoln date-night program where people can borrow a vehicle for a day or night on the town, there are reputed to be back stories about the characters from the ads.