Tag Archives: lexus

Holiday Horrors 2009

Holiday Horrors: The Lexus Christmas Ads

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The Lexus Christmas ads. Need I say more?

For the last ten years or so (at least it feels like that long), Lexus has run ads every Christmas that feature a brand new car in someone’s driveway, topped by a large red bow. That someone is invariably a person you want to hit in the throat with a tree stand.

Over time, these commercials evolved to become even more out of touch. It wasn’t enough that the people in these commercials woke up to new luxury sedans on Christmas morning. Now, they were being introduced to said vehicles by means of cutesy, vomit-inducing gimmicks, the kind that, in the real world, would require a huge investment of free time and money. Like a choir of children singing carols on your lawn. Or, they would necessitate other family members “tricking” mom or dad into finding the Lexus in their garage.

Eventually, the ad wizards in charge of this campaign ran out of ways to trick people into finding their new cars. Hence their Christmas spot from two years ago, in which a husband (with the help of his son) engages in the lamest ruse every filmed. You can peep my blow-by-blow review here.

Last year, Lexus had to recognize that times were tough. Even the rich-asshole-iest of the rich assholes coudn’t just plop down 50 grand for a car. Or at least they couldn’t be spurred to do so by the old Lexus sales pitch. So Lexus took a new tack: Tap into the childlike wonder of Christmas. The ads featured home movie-ish film stock, with children talking about their most beloved toys, most of which were classic toys like Big Wheels and Ataris. Then the ads would cut to the children, all grown up, marveling at their new Lexus with childlike wonderment.

It almost worked. But then they ruined it with one terrible variation on the theme: A little girl talking about getting a pony, and how it made her friends jealous. It still pisses me off just thinking about it, but you can read my fresh anger from last year here.

Adtacular, Seasonal Fare

Corporate America Finally Gets It, Except When It Doesn’t

In case you hadn’t heard, the economy’s in the toilet. As such, this year’s holiday ads have taken quite a different tack than usual. Rather than pressure you to SPEND SPEND SPEND, most commercials emphasize the relative affordability of their product/service/store. Companies realize that many Americans are one paycheck away from wearing barrels with suspenders.

Even Lexus seems to understand this, which is amazing, since they could always be counted on to construct the most hateful Christmas ads every year. After all, any wealthy man can piss away money, but it takes a special kind of clueless plutocrat to spend an extra 30 grand on a Toyota because it has an L on the hood.

This year, their ads still feature The Red Bow. But rather than show entitled jerks surprising their spouses, they’ve decided to tap into The Childhood Wonder of Christmas. Their commercials show little kids, filmed in grainy old home movies style, explaining how nothing could ever top their best Christmas gift: Atari, Big Wheel, etc. And then it cuts to the kid, grown up, seeing his brand new Lexus in the driveway, his face lit up with a childlike glow.

Manipulative? Yeah. Exploitative? Definitely. Still, infinitely less douche-tastic than their usual holiday ads.

Plus, it features some classic toys that many viewers remember treasuring as children. They’re toys that lots of kids, regardless of background, spent thousands of hours with in their formative years.

In other words, these commercials do a much better job of tapping into universal holiday experiences. Few of us will wake up to a new car in the driveway on Christmas morning, but most of us know what it’s like to get one of these toys under the tree.

Of course, Lexus does tip their elitist hand in one of their commercials. Unfortunately, it’s the only one that features a girl/woman as gift recipient, which gives it an uncomfortably misogynistic feel. What is the little girl’s treasured childhood Christmas gift–a Barbie doll? An Easy-Bake Oven? A Light Brite? Nope, it’s a pony.

Continue reading Corporate America Finally Gets It, Except When It Doesn’t →

Adtacular, Seasonal Fare

Die Die Die: Lexus Performs the Collected Works of John Cheever

I don’t have a problem with the commercialization of Christmas. Or at least I think it’s pointless to rail against it. Christmas is a holiday whose main purpose is to buy presents for other people. In other words, commercialization is built right in. You might as well hop in the ocean and complain about how wet it is. “What the hell–this ocean is full of water!” You know when Christmas wasn’t commercialized? Never. Don’t like it? Deal with it, Linus Van Pelt.

What I do find gross at this time of year is commercials that equate Spending A Lot Of Money with A Demonstration Of Love. There have been many offenders in this category over the years, but my least favorites have to be the Lexus Christmas ads. These spots return every December, a lot like the old Norelco ad. But rather than show Santa tooling around in an Electric Shaver/Sled, these ads want you to drop 80 grand on a luxury sedan.

The commercials vary slightly every year, but they follow a basic formula: One family member–almost always a father/husband–uses a clever means to reveal his purchase of a Lexus to its lucky recipient. Sometimes, children are involved. Sometimes, carolers are put to work. Whatever ruse is employed, it’s twee and precious and ends with the revelation of a brand new Lexus in the driveway, topped with an enormous red bow.

As with many ads that infuriate me, I don’t understand what audience this commercial is pitching to. If you’re rich enough to swing a Lexus, you buy one, end of story. The Rich don’t need a holiday as an excuse to treat themselves to a brand new automobile. And they don’t need to be enticed with the oily aromas of Dealer Incentives and Year End Rebates.

If you’re waiting around for an Annual Sales Drive or Factory Surplus to buy a Lexus, guess what? You can’t afford one. Putting these commercials on the air, at this time of year, is just a slap in the face to every Working Schmuck laboring under a mountain of debt and expectations.

Continue reading Die Die Die: Lexus Performs the Collected Works of John Cheever →