• by Karl Greenberg , December 15, 2010

Lexus is, for the first time, talking to consumers about a new vehicle within the realm of Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform. The luxury division of Toyota Motor is going after a new customer for Lexus by promoting the new car, a dedicated luxury marque called Lexus CT 200h, through a partnership and integration in Xbox 360 system and the "Halo:Reach" game.

The car, which goes on sale in early March at the starting price -- just announced -- of $29,120, will be featured in the gaming platform's Xbox Live "All-Nighter" this Saturday. The program makes Lexus sponsor of the all-night gaming marathon for "Halo: Reach," wherein gamers can download Lexus content and enter to win prizes for playing from 6 pm until 6 am.

Microsoft is giving gamers who play "Halo:Reach" during the night Microsoft Points good for games, movies, music downloads and merchandise. To get the points Gamers have to download the Lexus All-Nighter Gamer Picture and play "Halo: Reach." The longer they play "Halo: Reach," the greater their odds of winning.

"We're looking to stimulate conversation with a new customer for Lexus, for whom gaming is highly engaging and very social," said Dave Nordstrom, Lexus VP marketing, in a statement. "This partnership allows us to be a part of the Xbox community for the first time and give a little something back to gamers."

Linked to the Xbox experience is a microsite at Lexus' web experience site, DarkerSideofGreen.com featuring a Lexus-produced "Dark Casting" series of interviews done from the back seat of a CT 200h at night. The show features actress and comedian Whitney Cummings interviewing influencers from such areas as art, music, fashion, the culinary world and technology in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami and Los Angeles. One interview features Chicago restaurateur Grant Achatz famed owner of Alinea and a leader of the molecular gastronomy movement in the U.S.

The Xbox campaign is part of the pre-launch campaign for the car called "Darker Side of Green," an event-marketing, digital and lifestyle centric campaign that aims to attract influencers with an ironic approach that eschews the sunshine, flowers, and "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" zeitgeist typical of hybrid car marketing for a nocturnal approach. The automaker's efforts under the "darker" banner have included celebrity-packed nightclub debates between global warming sirens and skeptics.

Acerbic comic Sarah Silverman moderated one of these, in New York this past March. The car was prominent at the venue. There have also been social media and emerging-technology programs and immersive digital elements like a "Dark Ride" interactive film on the web site that ties a virtual test-drive with an espionage-type storyline.

The CT 200h is the automaker's fifth hybrid vehicle (Lexus has hybrid versions of three other cars and the RX crossovers), and the second after the HS 250h that is offered only as a hybrid. The company says the car will get combined 42 mpg and has four driving modes: Sport, Normal, Eco, or EV. The latter is electric-only, in which it can operate for up to one mile.