Dive Brief:
- Lexus debuted a holiday marketing effort that was crafted with generative artificial intelligence, according to a press release.
- The luxury automaker’s “Built for Every Kind of Wonder” video shows surreal seasonal imagery, including a ski trail lifting up into the sky like an ocean wave, before revealing these fantasies stem from the mind of a child gazing into a snow globe and imagining the worlds held within.
- Developed with AKQA, the brand film will appear on Lexus’ owned digital and social channels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More marketers are testing the limits of generative AI in video content, even as consumer sentiment toward the technology remains a mixed bag.
Dive Insight:
Lexus and AKQA are leaning into generative AI for an effects-heavy piece of holiday storytelling. “Built for Every Kind of Wonder” was developed within the WPP-owned shop’s Virtual Studio, which is billed as a “next-generation content engine” that blends cinematic craft with leading-edge technology.
The video has an abstract feel to it, depicting scenes that share a seasonal, snowy theme but do not gel into a conventional narrative. Interspersed between shots like a fish swimming under a frozen lake and a surreal swirling ski slope is footage of a Lexus vehicle as it sets off magical sparks and lifts skyward in a manner akin to Santa’s sleigh. The story closes on the reveal that all of these fantastical images are envisioned by a child staring into a slow globe while on a car ride.
Lexus challenged AKQA to see where AI could fit into the automaker’s winter promotions, per press materials, and was impressed by the results. Generative AI is positioned as helping brands to realize what can be complex, expensive shoots in a more efficient manner, though outputs still often need to be refined with a human touch.
“The film does a fantastic job of playing to the strengths of AI to create a magical world that aligns perfectly with our ‘built for every kind of wonder’ positioning,” said Rudy Boeman, Lexus EMEA brand and communications manager, in a statement. “We’re already looking forward to our next project together.”
In the U.S., Lexus is again running its longstanding “December to Remember” campaign with emotionally charged ads that show different generations of a family united by the brand around the holidays. The spots are set to the Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide.”
Other marketers are working generative AI into their holiday marketing, to mixed results. Coca-Cola for the past two years has run spots for the end-of-year period that recreate classic commercials with an AI touch. Critics view the execution as lacking the usual warmth of the soft drink brand’s marketing. Coke has defended the work, claiming the campaign performs well in testing. McDonald’s earlier this month pulled an ad in the Netherlands that used generative AI to depict how hectic and stressful the holidays can be, underpinning how intense AI backlash can become and the brand risk associated with the space.
Lexus’ agency partner AKQA has experienced a number of high-profile executive departures following the resignation of founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed in October of last year. The firm recently restructured around three key markets, the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, and unveiled a revamped global leadership team. Parent company WPP has been struggling to return to growth following a string of punishing client losses, and has put AI innovation at the forefront of its turnaround strategy.
