Stylish new campaign for Lexus from Draftfcb Johannesburg

With television, print, direct mail, outdoor and internet in the media mix, the campaign relies on tight copy and consistent art direction to ensure the ‘golden thread' linking them is not lost.

This thread - the Lexus design engineers' obsessive attention to detail - manifests in four different executions, and are then interpreted for each of the media channels:

• ‘10 grams' highlights that, while 10 grams barely registers on a scale, it's overweight on a car.
• ‘2 decibels' stresses that this might be inaudible to the human ear, but it deafens an engineer.
• '48 degrees' points out that this heat will scorch skin, but won't damage paintwork.
• ‘4.7-million kilometers' creatively illustrates the excessive test-drives which took place to ensure perfection.

Each execution stresses that, while some may regard this attention to detail as obsessive, the Lexus team knows it as "the pursuit of perfection".

The creative treatment uses beautiful images and clean lines to mirror the car's design. The tone is sincere and precise, because the pursuit of perfection is no ordinary endeavour, and the choice of music classic to highlight that the brand has serious intent.

The television and print commercials, in particular, are highly- and well-crafted campaigns relying on copywriting and art direction skill, rather than the bells and whistles of special effects or popular or trendy faces and music. As such, they are certain to appeal to their target audience, which comprises modern and open-minded individuals who seek luxury, substance and quality of life.

Utilising smart copy and bold black and white photography to communicate the Lexus design's team commitment to engineering excellence, the billboards are easy to spot, easy to read, and given the copy's relevance to the location, easy to remember - all three elements critical for successful outdoor.

The execution at the Cape Town airport states "4.7-million test-driven kilometres. From CPT International to OR Tambo International, 3718 times" while that outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange "4.7-million test-driven kilometres. From the JSE to Wall Street and back, 260 times".

The online campaign, which comprises mainly banners linked to sites visited by members of Lexus' target market, complements the current television, print, direct and outdoor campaigns, while the website is intended as an information source for potential Lexus purchasers. It also functions as a mechanism for Lexus to capture information about current owners, and to keep them informed about the brand.

The site also features a rather intriguing competition that asks visitors to try to engineer the perfect car using the online tool. The person whose design is as close to perfect as can be will win a luxurious trip to Japan. While an intellectual challenge, the competition reinforces the Lexus design team's own quest for perfection.