To launch the NX, Lexus partnered with musician and technophile will.i.am, uniting the brand’s precision engineering with his innovative approach to music.

The challenge was to move beyond the brand’s exsiting international advert and create something that demonstrated Lexus’s engineering artistry in a culturally resonant way.  An idea that would bring the brand’s Amazing in Motion belief to life in earned media.

The answer: turn a stretch of road into a musical instrument the car itself could play.

Working with techno-art collective, Marshmallow Laser Feast, the vision was brought to life on a disused runway outside Madrid.

70 technicians spent seven days constructing more than 350 motion and audio‑sensitive laser gates, essentially a giant game of Guitar Hero, with cars instead of fingers.

Each beam was a musical trigger. An NX passing through at the correct speed and rhythm fired a note from will.i.am’s track #thatPOWER. Miss the beat and the sequence restarted. will.i.am conducted, while Niki Faulkner led a precision drive team of three cars. The entire performance was captured in a single night before sunrise.

Rolling out across 15 markets, the campaign generated 320 pieces of coverage and a digital reach of 161 million.