Recently, my Facebook status was about window-shopping for a new car – a cabriolet.
This prompted an unprecedented number of comments from petrolheads eager to tell me what I should buy. All kinds of metal were punted my way, from the Audi A4 to the Porsche 911, the new Mini to the VW Eos.
Of course, automotive manufacturers were blissfully unaware of my musings.
And this is the point. A motor is an infrequent purchase; during the years in between buying decisions, the buyer vanishes off the radar – unless the marketing folk have already started an ongoing dialogue.
This is particularly important for car launches – to gather the tyre-kickers ahead of the big event.
Here, this Lexus insert neatly demonstrates this strategy. Production of the Lexus CT 200h doesn’t even start until December.
But brand owner Toyota already has a fleet of online and offline direct marketing materials out in the market.
Creatively, Lexus has risen above the bland and clichéd fare that currently passes for most car advertising.
For example, does anyone know what happened to Honda? Having broken the mould with ads like 'Cog' and 'Choir', it seems to have taken three massive steps back to middle-of-the-roadness.
On a happier note, the front cover of the Lexus insert is visually and verbally striking. "SAY HELLO TO THE QUIETEST BABY EVER" it proclaims, next to a baby’s dummy (or "soother" if one is middle class), made up of the Lexus hubcap.
It’s intriguing enough to lure you into the story of the newest member of the Lexus family.
Quibbles? It looks as though the client had spent its photography budget before getting to the retouching, which is a shame – a few more shekels would’ve given the baby kit images a feeling of quality to reflect Lexus luxury.
And the prize draw for a five-star stay in London, while it has broad appeal, lacks imagination or any link to the ‘baby/quiet’ idea.
Otherwise, the piece is crisply written and cleanly art directed. This baby deserves a small pat on the back.
Simon S Kershaw is a creative consultant and a former creative director at Craik Jones.
This prompted an unprecedented number of comments from petrolheads eager to tell me what I should buy. All kinds of metal were punted my way, from the Audi A4 to the Porsche 911, the new Mini to the VW Eos.
Of course, automotive manufacturers were blissfully unaware of my musings.
And this is the point. A motor is an infrequent purchase; during the years in between buying decisions, the buyer vanishes off the radar – unless the marketing folk have already started an ongoing dialogue.
This is particularly important for car launches – to gather the tyre-kickers ahead of the big event.
Here, this Lexus insert neatly demonstrates this strategy. Production of the Lexus CT 200h doesn’t even start until December.
But brand owner Toyota already has a fleet of online and offline direct marketing materials out in the market.
Creatively, Lexus has risen above the bland and clichéd fare that currently passes for most car advertising.
For example, does anyone know what happened to Honda? Having broken the mould with ads like 'Cog' and 'Choir', it seems to have taken three massive steps back to middle-of-the-roadness.
On a happier note, the front cover of the Lexus insert is visually and verbally striking. "SAY HELLO TO THE QUIETEST BABY EVER" it proclaims, next to a baby’s dummy (or "soother" if one is middle class), made up of the Lexus hubcap.
It’s intriguing enough to lure you into the story of the newest member of the Lexus family.
Quibbles? It looks as though the client had spent its photography budget before getting to the retouching, which is a shame – a few more shekels would’ve given the baby kit images a feeling of quality to reflect Lexus luxury.
And the prize draw for a five-star stay in London, while it has broad appeal, lacks imagination or any link to the ‘baby/quiet’ idea.
Otherwise, the piece is crisply written and cleanly art directed. This baby deserves a small pat on the back.
Simon S Kershaw is a creative consultant and a former creative director at Craik Jones.