• by Tanya Gazdik , November 22, 2021

Lexus and Toyota are bringing back their holiday-themed creative campaigns despite an ongoing vehicle shortage that may actually make putting that bow-adorned car in the driveway more difficult. 

While individual Toyota dealers are promoting the annual Toyotathon sales event, no national spots have been announced, according to a spokesperson. 

The two national broadcast spots in the Lexus “December to Remember” feature the signature Lexus red bow, holiday melody and joyful moments.

More than just a sales event, the campaign celebrates people coming together during the holidays, said Vinay Shahani, vice president of Lexus marketing.

The first spot, “Runway,” shows a child helping Santa find the right house by turning her driveway into a holiday-light-filled runway. The second spot, “Wonderland,” focuses on a tween enlisting his friends to collect seasonal decorations in his dad’s all-new 2022 NX F Sport to transform the town square into a winter wonderland.

As of Oct. 31, Lexus as a whole only had 21 days’ supply of vehicles compared to 48 days on Oct. 31, 2020, according to Wards Intelligence.  Days’ supply measures how long the inventory on hand will last. The vehicle featured in one of the Lexus TV spots, the NX, had 19 days’ supply on Oct. 31 vs. 57 a year ago.

Toyota as a whole was in a similar situation with 20 days’ supply on Oct. 31 compared to 48 on Oct. 31, 2020, per Wards Intelligence. The popular Tundra pickup is currently sitting at 14 days’ supply vs. 41 a year ago. The Prius only has 12 days vs. 110 a year ago.

Toyota seems to have been favoring Lexus production of late, as luxury usually does better in the final months of the year, per Cox Automotive. Lexus supply climbed throughout October as did its volume-leading RX SUV. Toyota said all plants will return to normal production and even begin making up lost production in December.

The spots will air on cable, prime time, late night, and sports programming, including NCAA Football, NFL, NHL, English Premier League and Soccer on ESPN. The integrated campaign also includes digital, with media running across select social media platforms and on the YouTube Lexus channel. 

The Lexus “December to Remember” event runs through Jan. 3.

This year, Lexus is providing a $300,000 charitable donation to the Boys & Girls Club of America. Locally, Lexus Dealers will have the opportunity to surprise members of the Boys & Girls Club across the country with something from their wish list, and deliver it with a big red bow.