A Dark Ride (in a Lexus) with Boondock Saint Norman Reedus
May 30, 2010 by John McRae
He’s driving, you’re just along for the ride. (Photo: Joel W. Henderson for LexusDarkRide.com)
The old way of promoting a car was to run TV and magazine ads, and associate the new model with an aspirational lifestyle. But that’s the way grandpa did it. The new way is to film a 12-minute high-def interactive video with movie stars that connects to Facebook, post it on the web, then Twitter it to get some buzz. Tap into their webcams, too, so they can “talk” to the high-watt actors.
Toyota has done exactly that to promote its new and rather angular Lexus CT 200h hybrid car. The Lexus, which comes out in early 2011, is a “premium compact” hybrid, and not based on a conventional version. With a 1.8-liter Atkinson Cycle four-cylinder engine, it should offer excellent fuel economy, though that’s not been released yet.
Lexus Dark Ride, which debuted Friday afternoon, stars Norman Reedus of Boondock Saints fame and is a spy thriller/Fast and Furious kind of thing, with lots of off-the-wall driving and folks getting shoved around. Reedus is the unshaven Tony Driver, a handy man behind the wheel. You get to be the passenger, interacting with a very gruff Reedus, who in a carryover from the Saints still sounds vaguely Irish (he’s not). The mission: deliver the …
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