King T’Challa, also known as the Black Panther, came all up through the TV screen during Super Bowl LII, and hands down, the ad won.
The commercial uses the set from the film, in which we hear actor Chadwick Boseman’s lilting voice as T’Challa, reveling in all his coolness in the spot featuring the all-new 2018 Lexus LS 500 F Sport. Die-hards will note the attention to canon detail in the portrayal of Black Panther’s Dora Milaje guards, and snippets taken from the film itself.
Though the hate is real, there is no denying that Black Panther is making all kinds of history during Black History Month, with Boseman as Marvel Studios’ first-ever black lead, and the movie breaking Marvel Studios’ previous presale box-office records. Moreover, the creative team behind the spot is breaking gender and cultural barriers as well.
Not only was Walton Isaacson, the agency behind the commercial, “Long Live the King,” co-founded by an African-American man, Aaron Walton, but the executive producer of the spot was Shauna Williams, one of very few women of color to produce a Super Bowl ad. The 30 seconds of hypeness were directed by Samuel Bayer and feature the hit track “Legend Has It” from famed hip-hop duo Run the Jewels.
Lexus awarded Walton Isaacson the broadcast creative assignment for the launch of the LS 500, the brand’s new flagship sedan, reportedly the most technologically advanced vehicle Lexus has ever made.
“Partnering Lexus and Marvel Studios’ Black Panther was an authentic fit. Both the brand and the film are breaking new ground in terms of advanced technology and cultural leadership,” said Walton.
Look out for more black excellence with marketing efforts between Lexus and Marvel Studios that include lotsa Lexuses in the Black Panther film (i.e., product integration); the creation of the graphic novel Black Panther: Soul of a Machine; a star-studded Comic-Con launch event; and a forthcoming New York Fashion Week activation.
In short, the cultural revolution continues.