• by Karl Greenberg , March 11, 2008

Lexus is focusing on the letter "F" with an in-cinema ad campaign that includes a series of short ads showing the new IS-F sports sedan zooming in, out and across the screen.

The effort is also the first for Lexus by an ad agency hitherto devoted to Scion, Toyota's brand aimed at the entry-car market. The ad, delivered digitally via National CineMedia, launched on March 7, and will ultimately be in 13,200 theatres nationwide.

All of the six 15-second spots are shot in dark overtones, with a sequence opening with a view of an asphalt strip, with text asking "What is F?," and responses like "F is a 170 mph top speed;" "F is 0-60 in 4.6 seconds;" or "F is Precision Braking by Brembo." The company will use two different headlines for IS F. For lifestyle-themed ads, the theme is "F is everything you thought we weren't," and for enthusiasts, "F is turning the world into your racetrack."

Brian Bolain, national interactive automotive events manager, says the F campaign will not use national TV ads at all. He says the cinema focus was appropriate because in no other medium could Lexus be guaranteed delivery of a full, directional audio. "The dynamics of the vehicle have to come across. [With in-cinema ads] you can play with surround-sound [to show] that the car is gigantic."

Bolain says the ads will run on all PG-13 and R films on the 3.5-minute ad pod right before film trailers run, with 15-second F ads dispersed within the pod. "You are certain of getting a good audience; targeting is better than a national buy on TV, and the impressions are meaningful."

"It was very important that this creative look and feel nothing like traditional Lexus advertising," he says. "Typically, everything we do is light, and very refreshing; this needed to be more aggressive and menacing," he says.

Attik's recent work for Scion, which features animated critters called "little deviants," would fall into the latter category. "We thought it was a good opportunity to give them a chance," says Bolain, who oversaw Scion's advertising direction prior to shifting over to Lexus. "Their visual aesthetic is very high." He says that in addition to the cinema ads, which run through April, Attik has created the IS-F microsite, and is also doing outdoor executions. "They are doing all the visuals around IS-F."

Bolain says that although there will be no national broadcast ads for F, "dealers liked the cinema ads so much that they asked that we create a broadcast spot. We took three fifteens and glued them together to make thirty," eliminating repetitive text and footage.

Lexus has also been working on getting the F--or a virtual version of it--into digital games. And per Bolain, Lexus is distributing DVDs at auto shows that contain a virtual track-drive of the car. Also, in something of a first for auto shows, the company is letting auto show visitors "drive" an IS-F that has been harnessed to a dynamometer.

"We started using that at the [Special Equipment Market Association] show. It's in a static situation, but people come away feeling they drove the thing, they have heard the sound, been at the wheel of the car. I don't want people to look at the car and think it's just an IS with a V8 engine."