The CT 200h is the world’s first full hybrid luxury compact car. With a price point of £23k - £25k, this car had a whole new target audience for Lexus: rising stars, aged 35. And it would be competing in a highly competitive sector of the market, against the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3, both high volume models for Lexus’ German competitors.
The challenge: Lexus is perceived as for an older market. It’s sedate and not relevant to a younger target market. Additionally, hybrid cars are thought sluggish and worthy. We had to make Lexus relevant to this audience, and make a hybrid car appealing too.
Having conducted research across Europe, we knew that the new, younger audience that Lexus was targeting with the CT 200h was one for whom the promise of a luxury car with environmental credentials was appealing. And the fact that it was now affordable for them was an exciting proposition.
Our big idea for the CT 200h launch was ‘Start The Quiet Revolution’; a rallying cry to the new generation of car buyers who want to choose sustainable products but don’t want to have to compromise on quality.
The idea of the ‘Quiet Revolution’ also allowed us to dramatise the attributes of the car which offers near silent, zero emission driving in electric mode.
The ‘Drum Roll’ TV spot introduces the new CT with the traditional symbol of announcement - a global drum roll, with people all over the world joining in. But as this drum roll reaches its crescendo we cut to absolute silence with the introduction of the car, which drives around the city in near-silence as we are given the chance to its luxury interior and exterior styling for the first time. It’s the start of the ‘Quiet Revolution’.