Lexus LS: Still loves a Champagne glass

Lexus has recreated an iconic 1989 advert with Champagne glasses on the bonnet of a new Lexus LS460.

Back when Lexus was born as the posh Toyota, Toyota’s advertising bods had to convince the American public that Lexus was more than just a big Toyota – with an even bigger price tag.

The pitch was that this new Lexus LS would give you highway smooth – just like a big, lazy ‘Mercan V8 – and brilliant build quality, and all for less than a Mercedes S Class. Which was the target.

Lexus cleverly came up with an advert that showed a new Lexus LS400 on a dyno at 145mph with a five-row stack of old-fashioned Champagne glasses standing on the bonnet.

It did the trick. Americans were convinced by the advert and went on to make Lexus the best-selling luxury marque in the US.

This week, the owner of a new Lexus LS460 (yes, you can get a new Lexus LS in the States that isn’t a hybrid) decided to repeat the trick and see if his new LS was as smooth as the original LS. And he failed.

Which seemed a bit odd. When we reviewed the Lexus LS 600h recently we concluded that although it wasn’t a brilliant driver’s car, it was a brilliant passenger car – as smooth and quiet as anything on the road.

But to be entirely fair to Lexus the Lexus owner failed in his bid to recreate the original advert because he used wine glasses instead of the wider, flatter old-fashioned Champagne glasses. And because he didn’t level the bonnet of his Lexus first.

So in a case of very wide-awake PR from Lexus they decided to do it properly – albeit in a mock-amateur kind of way – and proved that the LS460 is a brilliantly smooth runner at over 5,000rpm – just as the original LS400 was.

Terrific, interactive, joined-up PR from Lexus.

Lexus LS460 Champagne Glass Video