Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Japanese car maker Toyota, have team up with the Los Angeles-based premium brand agency Team One to create a marketing campaign that makes use of virtual reality (VR) technology.
Titled ‘Virtual to Reality’ the campaign is about how VR is able to simulate a lot of different senses though it might not offer the same sense as driving the real thing. As each of the models in the campaign is a readily available model for purchase, the tagline for the campaign is to hurry before they are gone, and experience the reality of the Lexus brand. VR may be used as part of the campaign, and done so in an interesting way, but the focus here is on the physical world rather then the virtual.
The campaign is running from now until 2nd April, 2018 and includes the entire lineup of Lexus vehicles, including the all-new LS. The campaign makes use of three short videos each focusing on a different aspects of the Lexus brand including ‘Performance‘, ‘Craftsmanship‘ and ‘Utility‘. In each one of the videos an actor is interacting with the Lexus vehicles by means of a different VR setup. This includes a head mounted display (HMD) hanging in a large, open area, simulating the feeling of walking around and touching one of the models. Another makes use of HMD and a driving seat setup to demonstrate the user taking a virtual test drive and the third, final one, placing the actor in a full enclosure to again simulate the feeling of being in a Lexus vehicle.
The ‘Virtual to Reality’ campaign is all part of the Lexus 2018 Command Performance Sales Event, aimed at increasing sales numbers. The use of VR technology in the campaign is interest as it would be expect that a company might pick to use VR as the sales method. Instead, Lexus and Team One have taken the VR element and used it to empower the experience and feelings that come from reality. That said, the VR setups that Lexus have within the campaign videos are rather impressive. You can view one of the campaign videos below, entitled ‘Craftsmanship’.
For more on Lexus and VR technology stay tuned to VRFocus.