Toyota, Lexus Announce Massive Super Bowl LII Ad Spots

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Jan 19, 2018

Two 60-second ads for Toyota and a Marvel-themed commercial for Lexus

Super Bowl LII is a little over two weeks away. As is customary in the weeks leading up to the game, automakers begin announcing their plans for the Super Bowl Sunday, including the lineup of commercials that they’re set to debut before, during, and after the game. Toyota took a hiatus from the frenzy last year, but it’s back with a vengeance this year with a pair of 60-second commercials. For its part, Lexus is also in on the fun with its own commercial that will have ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It’s hard to speculate on what the commercials will feature because details behind the three ads from Toyota and Lexus have yet to be revealed. That said, we do know what they could be about.

In Toyota’s case, its first commercial will feature the Japanese automaker’s Olympic sponsorship. For those who don’t know, Toyota struck a deal with the International Olympic Committee back in 2015 to become the quadrennial event’s official “mobility” sponsor, beginning with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The partnership will run until the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It’s worth mentioning that Toyota’s decision to become a full-fledged Olympic sponsor has everything to do with the 2020 Summer Olympics taking place in Japan.

The theme of Toyota’s second commercial is still unclear, other than hints that it’s going to focus on a specific vehicle. Take your pick of what model that’s going to be. My money’s on the Toyota Avalon, which we just saw at the Detroit Auto Show.

For its part, Lexus’ Super Bowl LII commercial will feature the all-new LS luxury saloon. It will also tie into the upcoming Black Panther movie, solidifying the new partnership between the automaker and the superhero movie studio. It is curious that Lexus chose the LS as the star of its Black Panther-themed commercial in favor of the LC500.

For those who aren’t up-to-date with Lexus’ partnership with Marvel, the LC500 has been the showcase model of this collaboration. It appeared at the 2017 SEMA Auto Show dressed in Black Panther-inspired garb, and it even has a Marvel-dedicated website — www.marvel.com/lexuslc — that includes a starring role in an online comic book series, called Black Panther: Soul of a Machine.

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