Lexus “Steps” Commercial: Akio Toyoda’s Giant Gamble [The Ad Section]

Infiniti and Lexus both launched in the U.S. in 1989. Lexus's plan included the simple and logical idea to make its large car, the LS400, a Mercedes in all but name and sell it for less money. Its ads were logical too—they focused on the car. Infiniti, on the other hand, was much more daring. The Q45's styling was unorthodox for the time, and the advertising left everyone scratching their heads: Instead of talking about the car's features, the commercials focused on rocks, trees, and streams as an announcer talked about Japanese aesthetics. In fact, some spots didn't even show the car at all. It didn't work. While Lexus took off, becoming the bestselling imported luxury brand by 1991, Infiniti couldn't get out of the woods despite the Q45's 278-hp, 4.5-liter V-8. Fast-forward almost 25 years and Nissan's brand still hasn't caught up. In 2012, Infiniti sold 119,877 vehicles in the U.S. compared to more than 244,000 for Lexus. But if Lexus keeps making commercials like this, maybe the tables will turn. "Steps" tells the story of a giant articulated sculpture looking for his giant ex-girlfriend. Set to the excellent Kristina Train's retro-mod version of Aretha Franklin's "I'm Wandering", we follow the big dude as he negotiates the city streets on his nocturnal search. Actually, his handlers do the negotiating for him because he's really a huge puppet, but they do it so well that you can almost believe he's real. He's definitely sad, because as the song says, "Since I lost you, all I do is be wandering, wandering, wandering." At one point, he even wanders onto an office building rooftop and appears to contemplate suicide, but then, wait—who does he see? Why, a giant she-puppet! Whatever the Clash of the Titans was about, apparently she wants to forgive and forget, too. To celebrate the reunion, both sets of handlers swing them around a steel lamp pole in sync, which is the way giant metal puppets say "I love you." Or, "I promise I'll never do it again." Or something. As the camera pulls back, their spinning metallic bodies form a shape that's perhaps supposed to invoke the front end of a Lexus, which is then dissolved to, accompanied by a logo and the words "Amazing in Motion." Now, I'm not saying this commercial isn't a remarkable technical accomplishment. I watched the "making of" videos on Lexus's YouTube channel and was duly impressed. A lot of highly skilled talent poured blood, sweat, and tears into this performance art project, and it shows. Like Cirque du Soliel or the legendary Flying Wallendas, it has bodies flying through the air and joining up with split-second precision. Yes, it's cool to watch, but does anybody really think it will sell cars? Comparison Test: 2013 Lexus IS350 vs. BMW 335i, Cadillac ATS 3.6 Comparison Test: Audi A6 3.0T Quattro vs. Lexus GS350 F Sport Instrumented Test: 2013 Lexus LS460 F Sport AWD Well, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda does. Toyoda, who recently went on record to say he's taking personal responsibility for the brand's success, thinks it's such a swell commercial that he's running it in all 80 countries where Lexus is sold. In that same Automotive News story, he said, "There are already enough people at Toyota who use the left side of the brain. You need to be able to say, 'Wow! I want that!' " But what exactly does this commercial inspire people to want? Given the excellence displayed by Lexus vehicles of late—as one example, the new IS recently beat the benchmark BMW 3-series in a sports-sedan comparison test—maybe the ads should focus on the cars. Just sayin'. Award-winning ad man-cum-auto journalist Don Klein knows a good (or bad) car commercial when he sees one; the Ad Section is his space to tell you what he thinks of the latest spots. The ad's rating is depicted via the shift pattern at the bottom, but everyone has an opinion when it comes to advertising, so hit Backfires below and tell us what you think, too. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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