This commercial featuring perpetual Lexus voice actor James Sloyan in the passenger seat of an IS-F as Scott Pruett takes a lap around the track is just about perfect:

This is a definite payoff for using the same voice actor since the very first commercials.

(Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what James is saying right there at the end?)

The Lexus-sponsored Alicia Keys tour wrapped up last night in New York, and Advertising Age has an article describing the company’s presence at the concerts:

In exchange for the paid sponsorship, Lexus installed lounges at each concert, exclusive VIP areas heavy with appetizers and a bar, and randomly selected a section of the auditorium to get Lexus-branded chair pads and “concierge service,” including free popcorn and soda. Lexus also gave free parking and VIP passes to any attendee arriving in one of its cars.

Concert-goers who spent time in the Lexus lounge could register for a seat upgrade by providing some personal information. Organizers chose a handful of the folks with the worst seats in the house and gave them spots in the front row.

Webisodes with concert footage will become available June 30 on LuxuryAwaits.com, a website highlighting the marketer’s alliance with the singer.

It’s an interesting angle, this preferential treatment, and Lexus has used it in a number of different applications, from the owner lounges at car shows to parking at baseball games. On one hand, it’s a good way to connect with their current customers, but I wonder how non-Lexus owners would feel about the exclusivity?

The 2008 US Open is being played this week, and Lexus is one of the event’s four sponsors. As expected, there’s some fairly extensive Lexus advertising being put together, including a funny short film featuring Annika Sorenstam, Charles Howell III, Raymond Floyd and Chi Chi Rodriguez in a car race to the Open (image below leads to video):

Between this video and last year’s US Tennis Open advert, these sports sponsorships sure seem to bring out the lighter side of Lexus marketing.

(Also, on a related note, I read this interesting article about the USGA’s new corporate sponsorships and how it breaks down. Indepth and informative, if you’re interested in such things.)

I’ve featured a variation of this Lexus UK commercial before, but I like the concept enough to show it again:

It might be missing the rain footage of the first version, but any invisible automobile video is good by me.

There’s been a lot of interest in just what song is playing in the recent Lexus Pebble Beach commercial, so I decided to look into it.

First off, here’s the song in question:

As for the answer, the company responsible for the music is Robot Repair, specifically composer Kael Alden, who is also a member of the band Faded Paper Figures.

Now, according to a Faded Paper Figures blog post, there is a possibility that an extended version of the song will be released on iTunes, but there’s nothing definite at this point. I’ll be following this and will post if anything comes up.

(If you’re interested in a short MP3 version of this song, some enterprising soul constructed a non-voiceover version and uploaded it here.)

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the weirdest Lexus commercial I’ve ever seen:

A creepy man chasing a crying princess while riding a stick horse. Sure it’s a fairy tale, sure it’s a child’s imagination, but if I saw this as a kid I would have been completely freaked out.