Team One Introduces RC Coupe for Lexus

Team One is launching a campaign today to introduce Lexus’ first-ever RC 350 sport coupe and RC F performance coupe.

The multimedia campaign is centered around a pair of broadcast spots promoting each of the new vehicles. In “Face Off,” actor Wes Bentley (Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games, that creepy voyeur kid in American Beauty) confidently walks into a dark factory. As he glances at the Lexus RC Coupe, he likes what he sees (and for some reason lightbulbs explode as he unlocks the door) and he drives off smiling. The spot ends with the tagline, “Once driven, there’s no going back.”

“No Limits” was inspired by the RC F reveal video, and touts the vehicle’s powerful performance as barrier-breaking. It combines footage of the RC F racing through turns with athletes pushing their bodies to the limits.

Both spots launch today and will air during prime time, late night, cable, network television and cable sports, including “multiplatform ownerships within the Thursday Night Football Halftime Show on CBS and NFL Network.” In addition to the general market spots, “three additional RC F commercials geared toward multicultural audiences will also air at launch.” The broadcast efforts will be supported by digital, print and OOH executions. (more…)

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Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson Goes Undercover at ESPN

On the field, Calvin Johnson earns his “Megatron” nickname by dominating defenses with a robotic efficiency. He’s bigger, faster, stronger, and at times, it looks like a Transformer is playing against humans. However, off the field, and more specifically, in the ESPN offices, Johnson uses his transforming powers to trick a different kind of opponent (for anyone who cares and watches too much ESPN, it’s Kevin Negandhi).

The latest “This is Sportscenter” ad is par for the course: short, funny, and off-beat. The work comes once again from W+K New York (which has been handling SportsCenter work for nearly two decades), an agency that has no problem taking sports material and making it accessible to audiences. And for Megatron, he may want to think about outsourcing his Transformer duties over to Diddy, or Johnson, or whatever Nike wants to call him.

Credits after the jump.

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Sony Shows Off New 4K Ultra HD TV

To be fully experienced, this spot has to be watched at your nearest Sony Store or Magnolia Home Theater at Best Buy. That’s because it’s made specially for the 4K Ultra HD TV it advertises, which raises definition to four times that of a standard HD TV.

The ad still looks pretty on YouTube, with its New Zealand ocean setting, bright blue bird, and red-dressed woman. And it doesn’t hurt that filmmaker Garth Davis (a commercial director himself) narrates it all in his soothing Australian accent.

In addition to showcasing new HD technology, the ad features the largest asset ever made for TV: a random looming spaceship, created by VFX company MPC. Pretty sure Sony agreed to it just because they could.

“This is part of our Visionaries campaign for Sony,” 180LA creative director Dave Horton says. “The idea is to bring together two industry leaders to collaborate on a creation that brings Sony’s technology to life.” In this case, Garth Davis worked with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi). I look forward to seeing who’s next. I watch almost nothing on TV, but this technology is tempting.

Credits after the jump

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