Lexus has collaborated with Marvel Studios’ super heroes feature Eternals in an exclusive automotive partnership to market the new Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance. As the exclusive automotive partner of the film, Lexus debuts the marketing campaign with this long-form video titled “Parking Spot.” In the two-minute-plus piece, Kingo (played by actor Kumail Nanjiani) has to solve a very human problem before he can join the epic super hero battle happening downtown–finding a safe parking spot for his new Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance.
“Parking Spot” was directed by the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe) and Anthony Leonardi. The Russos have directed four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Produced by Bullitt (the Russo brothers’ commercial production company) for creative agency Team One, the video will headline the marketing campaign, set to appear in a wide range of media on-air, digital, and social placements.
Marvel Studios’ Eternals centers on an exciting new team of super heroes who have lived on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants. The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who made Oscar history as the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for best director on the strength of Nomadland. In addition to Nanjiani, the film stars Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee and Kit Harrington. Eternals hits U.S. theaters on November 5.
Credits
Client Lexus/Marvel Studios’ "Eternals" Agency Team One Chris Graves, chief creative officer; Jason Stinsmuehlen, executive creative director; Jesse Blatz, Matt Lanzdorf, creative directors; Sam Walsh, director of content production/EP; Evan Aronson, lead live-action producer; Sascha Peuckert, sr. producer; Robert Holeman, associate producer; Neil Cleary, music supervisor. Production Company Bullitt Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Anthony Leonardi, directors; Luke Ricci, president/EP; Jenni Sprunger, EP/head of production; Diane Castrup, producer; Bojan Bazelli, DP; Ben Kitchens, additional DP. Editorial Whitehouse Editorial Josh Bodnar, editor; Joanna Manning, exec producer; Lucia Villalta, post producer; Joe Carugati, assistant editor. Color Correction Framestore LA Beau Leon, colorist; Evan Reinhard, Nabil Moo, color assist; Jamie Runkle, associate producer. VFX Framestore LA Alex Thomas, creative director; Pete King, EP; Andrew McLintock, sr. VFX & color producer; Clement Renaudin, CG supervisor; JD Yepes, compositing supervisor; Jose Alvarado, associate producer; Christian Williams, VFX coordinator; Marco Amador, modeling supervisor; George Saavedra, head of rigging; Andrew Thompson, Soren Barton, lookdev; Justin Lecat, textures; Sean Dollins, layout supervisor; Fabio Zapata, head of data capture; Luis Rodriguez, integration; Edwin Schaap, Kevin Rooney, Sean Curran, animators; Victor Grant, FX supervisor; Aidan Merryman, Kjell Strode, William VonJess, FX; Richard Shallcross, lighting supervisor; Aldrich Torres, Cinzia Pegorin, Jessica Groom–Shelton, Kaho Horiuchi, Kris Cabera, Pota Tseng, lighting; Alexander Osvaldsson, Antoine Vinette-Lambert, Bruno De La Calva, Carlos Adarraga Gomez, Christopher Mosiadz, Claire Le Teuff, Craig Tozzi, Jesus Yapor, Kung Hang Wu, Oliver Ferguson-Taylor, Paul Krist, Samuel Jorgensen, compositors; Sarah Marikar, Flame artist; Chris Sanchez, Pete Pace, Steven Messing, digital matte painters; Chris Hamilton, Dustin Indrebo, VFX editors; Katherine Buckley, previz producer; Emily Rawl, previz associate producer; Todd Herman, generalist. Music Scoretek Nicolas O’Toole, composer/producer. Sound IMN Creative Mark Binder, sound supervisor, sound designer; re-recording mixer; Buck Mason, studio operations manager; Elliot Hartley, co-sound supervisor, dialogue editor; Trevor Cress, re-recording mixer; Donald Flick, sound effects editor; Vu le, foley mixer, foley editor; Campbell Irwin, ADR coordinator; Ryan Winston, engineering. VO Record Margarita Mix Bruce Bueckert, Bob Gremore, mixers; Mike Murzyn, Sean Melia, Brian Frank, assistants; Whitney Morris, exec producer.
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
