The new campaign for Lexus RX includes a funky trip to "Oz" for "Dorothy" and her family.
This isn’t your father’s RX, Lexus marketing is telling Americans these days. And that can be a tricky message given that RX essentially invented the mid-size luxury-SUV market int this country nearly a quarter-century ago and remains the gold standard in the segment.
In a new advertising campaign called “Never Lose Your Edge” — in part an homage to that legacy — Lexus is inviting consumers also to avoid complacency, in a series of TV spots and social-media spinoffs that depict RX drivers challenging convention, shaking things up and keeping things exciting.
“The tag line is representative of our relentless pursuit to improve RX in each successive generation,” Mia Phillips, senior manager, Lexus advertising, told me. “In consumer research, we found that you can say the same kind of thing about the RX driver. They’re extremely hard-working, already have achieved high levels of success, but are still looking for ways to improve themselves and challenge the status quo. So you can say that ‘never lose their edge’ too.
“For us, it’s about having a vehicle that’s been in the marketplace and really defined the luxury-SUV segment for many years, and we’re still looking for ways to up our game.”
The new campaign, thus, is led by a spot called “Unfollow,” in which a family featuring a mom who is a stylized version of Dorothy of The Wizard of Oz is following the “yellow brick road” of conventionality in their RX, at first. But then “Dorothy” takes a wildly divergent path and the hijinks begin, including being trailed in their RX 500h by a pack of white-clad riders on white motorcycles, and kids licking giant lollipops. In any event, they get to Oz by following an unconventional path, just as the “real” Dorothy did.
“Challenging the status quo and getting outside her comfort zone are things Dorothy had to do during her journey” to the fictional Oz, Phillips noted.
And the Oz universe was considered carefully as well. “When you think about this vehicle being our core and arguably our most important model, it already appeals to a broad audience,” she said. “This campaign was going to have to resonate with everyone in the market, and we looked to the Wizard to have that universal appeal.”
At the same time, another five spots in the “Never Lose Your Edge” campaign appeal specifically to multicultural audiences including Blacks, LGBTQ+ (with a spot including a drag queen), the Hispanic community, Korean-American consumers in a commercial that features actor Daniel Dae Kim and his real-life son Zander Kim, and those of Indian descent.
Just as the controversial new grille design on the RX series is “polarizing” because it doesn’t extend up the entire front of the vehicle, as Phillips admitted, Lexus is breaking other new advertising ground for the brand in this campaign as well. This involves digital spotlights on 27 personalities and influencers across fashion, sports, fitness and cooking. Lexus also is making its largest investment in audio to date and is introducing several new media partners, many of which are “diversity-owned.”
