Lexus and Amazon Ads redefined the car commercial to create a reality-bending Anderson .Paak music video

For the GX, Lexus created what Telfer calls “the anti-ad.” Lexus wanted to “avoid the typical car commercial and, instead, make something that is entertainment in itself. Something people want to watch,” he says.

Consumers are drawn to this kind of advertising that inspires creativity and offers an entertaining experience. According to the 2024 From Ads to Zeitgeist research from Amazon Ads, 62% of consumers surveyed believe that advertising should enable creative interactions. Meanwhile, 73% of global survey respondents said they appreciate advertising that entertains them.

“We went to Amazon Ads, and they came up with the idea of a music video. Nothing connects with us on an emotional level like music. It’s deeply personal and aspirational. It’s the most fundamental form of entertainment,” Telfer says.

With the music video in mind, Lexus wanted to find an artist that connects with a younger audience and captures the unique, luxury brand. “That artist was Anderson .Paak,” Telfer says. “He’s a renaissance man. Classic, but also always reinventing. He fit with the GX and everything we wanted to do.”

.Paak’s song “Celebrate” matched perfectly with the themes of the campaign to celebrate World Music Day and the launch of the Lexus GX. The format of a music video gave the creative team the opportunity to explore beyond the typical boundaries of an advertisement for a car. According to recent Quality Time research from Amazon Ads, nearly half (49%) of survey respondents mostly or always consider their music listening a part of their quality time. Additionally, more than half (53%) of survey respondents have entertainment in the background, making a curated playlist the perfect complement to any outdoor adventure.

“Instead of the rigid structures of a car commercial, Lexus gave us the freedom to do something a little more artful and a bit more imaginative,” says Chris Graves, Chief Creative Officer at Team One. “In a music video, reality is a bit suspended at times. I think there was always an idea to show a journey from A to B with Anderson and the vehicle. I think what evolved was an even more transcendent spiritual feeling to that journey. It wasn't just an off-roading journey.”

The team tapped directors Maya Table and Nick Martini, who brought new energy and ideas to the music video.

“I listened to ‘Celebrate’ probably a thousand times,” Table says. “It’s how I start to visualize what the video can be. For me, the line that really stuck was ‘You’re not dead.’ It captures this idea of living life, of adventure, of, yeah, ‘celebrating.’ Lexus gave my co-director Nick Martini and I a lot of creative freedom. They wanted us to avoid the cliché car commercial tropes – like the beauty shots of a car–and really shoot for the stars creatively. So we came up with the idea of Anderson in the wilderness, with really expressive/abstract elements–floating rocks, animated eyes on his guitars, even Anderson singing to a bear.”

And yes, that is an actual live bear in the video with .Paak.

“Anderson and the bear were maybe 50 feet apart. It was a really beautiful moment because it was real and it felt magical and majestic and helped us appreciate nature for what it is,” Table says. “And the bear is really sweet. Almost took a nap, too. Shout out to Tag, the bear.”

The result is a video that not only defies gravity but also the preconceptions of what an advertisement can be. In the video, .Paak sets off on his adventure in the Lexus GX, he drives it through mountainous terrain, and it even floats into space. But the vehicle only adds to the magic of the video, helping to enhance the narrative and the experience. And .Paak says his fans loved it.

“It got them excited about the album and got them excited about the tour. It was a great campaign to launch alongside our Malibu Tour announcement,” .Paak says. “People really like the commercial, too—we play it before the show, my fans love the experience I’ve created with Amazon Music and Lexus a lot. It’s a great way for us to warm up the crowd, and I’m glad that we have a visual to play before we step on the stage—and a really fun one too.”

The campaign debuted on destinationPaak.com and brought together multiple elements across the entire Amazon canvas, including :15 and :30 second ads on Prime Video. A custom landing page on Fire TV display featured the music video, behind the scenes footage, an image gallery, and the curated playlist. The campaign was also supported by landing page and display ads in the Amazon store, the Amazon Music playlist, and Alexa audio ads with an Alexa Theme featuring the sights and sounds of the GX.

By the end of June, the campaign had hit 164 million impressions. The campaign also drove awareness and favorability of the Lexus GX with a 4.6% increase in brand favorability (57% above norms) and a significant increase of consumers agreeing that the Lexus GX is the “perfect blend of luxury and capability” and “inspires them to get out and do what they want to do”.

“Fire TV, Alexa, and Prime Video ads were all huge for us as a way to tease the video. This was very different from anything we’ve ever done, and it was a big risk, but ultimately, the right one,” Telfer says. “Seeing the success of this campaign and how we went against the grain, has been incredibly inspiring.”

It is important for brands today to connect with consumers through creative experiences and surprising, original activations. According to the From Ads to Zeitgeist research, 62% of consumers are looking for the creation of more original content and 65% prefer to discover new products and have new experiences, rather than stick with the familiar.

“I think consumers are slightly fatigued with heavy and direct marketing at times. And I think this came off as a genuine effort to inspire,“ Graves says. ”I think this came off as a genuine effort by Lexus to create entertaining content that truly connected authentically with this group."

After the success of this campaign, Lexus continued the collaboration with .Paak, Amazon Music, and Amazon Ads by sponsoring .Paak’s Malibu tour and bringing it to life across the Amazon canvas. Additionally, Lexus launched a sweepstakes where customers could enter to win a VIP concert experience, extending the campaign flight by six weeks.

For .Paak, brands “just need to keep thinking of new and inventive ways to make it fun and exciting for the artist, like the remix idea which brought an older song a new life and thinking about ways to unite people.”

And while .Paak only owns vintage cars, he put in his own order for a GX. His won’t be levitating in real life, though.