Lexus Can You See with Your Ears campaign is exhilarating

Lexus campaign is designed to celebrate, provoke and satisfy curiosity

Can you see with your ears? What emotion fits in the palm of your hand? Is it possible to outsmart fate? These are just a few of the questions Lexus poses in its latest marketing campaign launching.

The campaign, called “Our Greatest Curiosity,” is a defining celebration of curiosity and the fascinating questions about humans that only Lexus asks, and therefore, only the brand can answer.

“Thirty years ago, Lexus introduced its first vehicles to the world. The most important part of those cars, however, was not the sheet metal, the engine or the technology,” said Lisa Materazzo, Vice President of Lexus marketing.

“It was the team of researchers who, in 1985, interviewed hundreds of consumers to understand them as humans: What moves them? What makes them tick? From the very beginning, our greatest curiosity has not been the machine, it has been the driver. It is the inspiration for everything we do. From the products we craft to the dealership experience, it is what makes us uniquely Lexus.”

So, can you see with your ears? You can, in a matter of speaking. A 15-second spot teases the question, and an online video explains that when a concertgoer closes her eyes, she can hear the locations of the drummer, guitarist and vocalist.

Ordinarily, automotive sound systems are engineered much later in development, but Lexus and Mark Levinson audio engineers worked hand-in-hand from the beginning to craft a bespoke audio experience for the ES. With Mark Levinson PurePlay 3D audio technology, no matter where the driver and passengers are sitting in the ES, it sounds more like they are at a live show.

The campaign is designed to celebrate, provoke and satisfy curiosity. A 60-second spot celebrates human curiosity with scenes of people indulging their curiosity in a wide variety of ways – listening to birds in the rain forest, painting on canvas in bold strokes, fearlessly diving off a cliff, exploring our solar system.

A series of 15-second teaser spots start the conversation about Lexus’ specific curiosities using the familiar iconography of the search bar to introduce each question and provoke the curious to learn more about Lexus.

Finally, curiosity is satisfied as the questions are answered online with long-form digital videos. Many of the spots close with the most interesting question of all: What amazing ideas will you inspire next?

The integrated media campaign for “Our Greatest Curiosity” will extend into 2020 and spans TV, streaming video, digital, social, alternative OOH (airports, gyms, elevators, cinemas), print and audio.

The TV spots will air on network and cable sports, including the World Series, NHL, NFL, college football and English Premiere League, in addition to cable, prime time and late-night programming.

The campaign includes custom content sponsorships with NPR, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Hulu. Additional media extensions will roll out as the campaign progresses.