Lexus Experiments With Generative AI in New Holiday Marketing Campaign — Full Details
Campaign Name & Theme
Lexus has launched a holiday campaign titled “Built for Every Kind of Wonder” that uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) to produce visually rich, imaginative seasonal marketing content. (Marketing Dive)
What the Campaign Footage Is Like
Thecenterpiece of the campaign is a surreal, story-driven AI-enhanced video that blends cinematic craft with imaginative imagery. Highlights include:
- Abstract winter scenes: such as a ski trail that lifts up into the sky like a wave and fish swimming under frozen lakes. (Yahoo Tech)
- Magical vehicle imagery: the Lexus vehicle appears to leap and sparkle as if part of a fantasy world — almost like Santa’s sleigh — drawing emotional and visual ties to the holiday season. (Yahoo Tech)
- Narrative twist: all these fantastical visuals are revealed to be part of a child’s imagination while gazing into a snow globe during a car ride, which grounds the spectacle in storytelling and emotion rather than pure technique. (Yahoo Tech)
This cinematic blend of AI effects and narrative helps Lexus maintain its premium brand voice while pushing creative boundaries. (news.designrush.com)
Role of Generative AI
The campaign integrates generative AI in several key ways:
1. Visual Effects Generation
Generative AI tools were used to create surreal and imaginative scenes that would be costly or time-intensive using traditional production methods, allowing Lexus and its partners to push beyond conventional visuals while still maintaining quality. (Yahoo Tech)
2. Virtual Production Workflow
Lexus partnered with AKQA and used their “next-generation content engine” within a virtual studio environment to blend human creative direction with AI-generated effects, demonstrating how AI can augment—rather than replace—traditional creative processes. (Yahoo Tech)
3. Experimentation Over Formula
Rather than relying on a standard commercial edit, Lexus explored what happens when AI becomes part of the creative toolbox — especially for holiday storytelling, where emotional resonance and visual surprise matter. (news.designrush.com)
Strategy & Purpose Behind the Campaign
According to Lexus and its agency AKQA:
Experimentation first: The goal was to see where and how generative AI can fit into luxury brand storytelling without compromising narrative depth or premium feel. (news.designrush.com)
Emotion + technology: Lexus wasn’t just showing off tech — it used AI to craft a magical, evocative experience that aligns with the feelings of anticipation, wonder, and imagination tied to the holidays. (Yahoo Tech)
Blending art with AI efficiency: The work demonstrates that AI can help create complex effects more efficiently while still leaving room for human creative judgment. (Yahoo Tech)
Lexus EMEA’s Brand & Communications Manager described the result as capturing the magical atmosphere consistent with the brand’s values. (neuron.expert)
Distribution & Audience
The campaign will be shared primarily on digital and social channels in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — regions where AI-driven visuals may resonate strongly with digitally-engaged, design-savvy audiences. (neuron.expert)
Notably, Lexus is running different holiday messaging in the U.S. market (“December to Remember”), which focuses on multigenerational family moments set to Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, showing that the brand is tailoring its creative approach to different cultural contexts. (neuron.expert)
Why This Matters in Marketing
Lexus’s campaign sits at the intersection of technology experimentation and emotional brand storytelling, which reflects several broader marketing trends:
1. AI as a Creative Partner
Brands are increasingly exploring generative AI not just for efficiency but to unlock new creative possibilities in storytelling — especially during emotional moments like the holidays where audiences are inundated with advertising noise. (news.designrush.com)
2. Balancing Technological Flair with Human Touch
While AI helps produce striking visuals, Lexus and AKQA emphasize that human direction remains essential to ensure narratives resonate and don’t feel artificial or hollow. (Yahoo Tech)
3. Marketing With Ambiguity
Surreal and imaginative holiday content signals that brands are willing to test less traditional commercial narratives, which can both attract attention and spark conversation in crowded seasonal landscapes. (Yahoo Tech)
Risks & Consumer Reception
Other brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s also used generative AI in holiday ads with mixed reactions — some campaigns were debated for lacking warmth or authenticity, and others were even pulled after backlash. (neuron.expert)
This context highlights that AI-enhanced storytelling must be handled carefully — blending innovation with brand values and emotional intelligence to avoid alienating consumers. (neuron.expert)
Summary of Key Takeaways
| Element | What Lexus Is Doing |
|---|---|
| Campaign Name | Built for Every Kind of Wonder |
| Core Tech | Generative AI + Virtual production studio |
| Creative Output | Surreal, narrative-driven holiday visuals |
| Strategy | Experimentation and emotional resonance |
| Distribution | Digital & social (EMEA); different creative in U.S. |
| Marketing Insight | AI enhances storytelling but must stay human-centered |
| Lexus uses AI as a creative partner, not just a cost-cutting tool. (news.designrush.com) | |
| The campaign blends imagination with brand values for holiday emotional impact. (Yahoo Tech) |
Here’s a case-study–focused breakdown of how Lexus is experimenting with generative AI in its new holiday marketing campaign, including real examples, industry context, outcomes, and expert commentary on what this means for brands using AI in creative work:
Campaign Overview: Lexus & Generative AI
Lexus launched a holiday marketing project titled “Built for Every Kind of Wonder,” developed in partnership with creative agency AKQA using generative artificial intelligence as a core creative tool. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
Primary goals:
- Use AI to push visual storytelling boundaries
- Explore how machine-assisted content can support emotional, cinematic advertising
- Pair AI capability with traditional human creative direction to maintain quality and brand values. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
Case Study 1 — Lexus “Built for Every Kind of Wonder”
What Happened
Lexus’s holiday film uses generative AI to create a series of surreal winter images that aren’t easy to produce with traditional filming. These include:
- A ski trail rising into the sky like an ocean wave
- A fish swimming beneath a frozen lake
- A Lexus vehicle seeming to emit sparks and float like Santa’s sleigh
These scenes are all revealed to be part of a child’s imagination as they gaze into a snow globe, tying the AI-generated spectacle to emotional storytelling. (Neuron)
Agency & Technology
- The film was developed with AKQA within its Virtual Studio — a “next-generation content engine” blending cinematic craft with AI tools.
- Lexus challenged the agency to experiment with AI, and the results impressed brand leadership with the film’s visual richness and seamless integration of effects. (Yahoo Tech)
Distribution
The film is set to run on Lexus’s digital and social channels across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — indicating a digital-first strategy emphasizing online engagement over traditional TV. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
Commentary
Rudy Boeman, Lexus EMEA Brand & Communications Manager, said the campaign “does a fantastic job of playing to the strengths of AI to create a magical world that aligns with their brand positioning. Lexus is already looking forward to the next collaboration with AKQA.” (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
Why this matters:
• Demonstrates how AI can generate complex visuals at scale — especially fantastical scenes that would be costly and time-intensive with conventional production.
• Still requires human oversight to guide narrative, ensure quality, and tie visuals back to the brand message. (Neuron)
Case Study 2 — Comparisons & Industry Context
Coca-Cola’s AI Holiday Ads
Coca-Cola has also embraced AI for holiday advertising, using generative tools to recreate classic seasonal imagery with large volumes of AI-generated clips. While some ads have been praised for reach and novelty, others have faced criticism for lacking emotional warmth and authenticity. This illustrates that AI adoption isn’t without risk when consumer expectations for emotional resonance are high during the holidays. (Marketing Dive)
Commentary:
Even major brands with deep AI investments (like Coca-Cola) have mixed reception — some campaigns score well for innovation, but others backfire or are pulled because audiences feel the content lacks a human touch. (Neuron)
Key Insights & Comments from Marketing Experts
1. AI as Creative Partner, Not Replacement
Lexus’s work showcases a trend where brands use generative AI to augment human creativity — producing visuals that are technically complex and conceptually bold, but still shaped by creative directors and narrative strategy. (Yahoo Tech)
Comment:
AI on its own often produces imagery that may be visually striking but lack context or meaning. Lexus’s approach ensures that AI feeds into a story arc (a child imagining magical scenes) that resonates emotionally — something pure AI without human direction rarely achieves. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
2. Balancing Innovation With Brand Values
Lexus didn’t just use AI for the sake of technology — the surreal imagery extends the emotional core of holiday advertising (imagination, wonder, family moments) while keeping visual sophistication tied to the Lexus brand. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)
Comment:
This strategy illustrates a broader marketer challenge: how to use AI tools while preserving brand identity and emotional depth — particularly in seasonal campaigns where sentiment matters. (Neuron)
3. AI and Consumer Sentiment Remain Mixed
Despite technical innovation, consumer sentiment about AI content — especially in emotionally driven holiday campaigns — is mixed. Some embrace creative experimentation, while others criticize such ads for feeling overly mechanical or lacking the “human warmth” expected at this time of year. (Neuron)
Comment:
Learning from brands like Lexus — and others like Coca-Cola — suggests that contextual relevance and story authenticity are essential components when deploying AI-generated visuals. Without them, audiences may disengage or react negatively. (Neuron)
What This Means for AI in Marketing
| Trend | Implication |
|---|---|
| AI-generated visuals | Can create rich, complex imagery not feasible with traditional production alone. (Yahoo Tech) |
| AI + human creative direction | Produces better emotional resonance than AI alone. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin) |
| Mixed consumer reactions | Brands need to consider tone, narrative, and cultural context when deploying AI content. (Neuron) |
| Digital-first distribution | Social/digital channels amplify reach and invite audience interaction around innovative content. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin) |
Summary — Lexus AI Holiday Campaign Insights
Campaign: Built for Every Kind of Wonder
Brand: Lexus (Luxury automotive)
Agency: AKQA (Creative partner)
Innovation: Generative AI visual creation integrated with cinematic direction
Key Strength: Combines visually rich, imaginative storytelling with emotional holiday themes
Industry Context: Reflects broader trend of AI in holiday marketing — striking visuals but requiring narrative care to resonate with audiences. (Biznis.ba – Poslovni magazin)