Black Panther rocks an LS in Lexus' Super Bowl commercial
Commentary: Marvel's new movie provides Lexus with a celebrity for its Big Game commercial. But do movie tie-ins really sell cars?
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Car companies love to get superheroes to slum it.
Of course Batman would drive a Jeep. If only he could.
Now it's Black Panther, whose preferred driving machine is, apparently, a Lexus.
In an extended version of the carmaker's Super Bowl ad, Chadwick Boseman, aka King T'Challa aka Black Panther, tries his best to convince you that today's Marvel-ous superhero prefers a Lexus LS F Sport.
The commercial (in full below) features the superhero panthering around and showing villains what royalty is all about:
And then he leaps into a Lexus. Yes, literally.
Oh, it's a perfectly adequate ad for the movie, which debuts Feb. 16. But does it feel like a Super Bowl ad, and does it make you want to drive a Lexus?
Lexus certainly hopes so.
It's a pleasant enough brand, of course, and it's not the first to leap onto the hood of a movie in the hope of reflective glory.
I still haven't quite gotten over how a fine but standard car like the Nissan Rogue was suddenly graced with a Star Wars version.
Then there's the Dodge Viper, which crowed that it was Darth Vader.
When it comes to Lexus, its press release insists: "The Lexus LS 500 F SPORT is the only vehicle both powerful and luxurious enough to keep pace with a Super Hero and escort a king."
The only vehicle, you understand.
While the minute-long ad previously released tells the story in more detail, Lexus also released a short 30-second version of the same ad during the third quarter of today's Super Bowl, which you can watch below:
Interested in checking out Black Panther's new ride? You can read our full first-take review of the 2018 Lexus LS here, and scroll through our gallery below.
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