Lexus’ primary objective was to reinforce their position as a leader in luxury lifestyle and to announce their "Standard of Amazing"—if it doesn’t make you feel something, it stops short of amazing. They were looking to do this through can't miss formats and experiences that would build brand desirability amongst passionate visionaries.
The formula to a great meal is well known: appetizer, main, and dessert. But if we stop and think about what goes into the creation of a dish, the whole is greater than its parts. This "three course" construct was at the core of our campaign strategy and execution.
We anchored this program in the heritage of our Food & Wine Classic events in Aspen & Charleston as the official automotive sponsorship to underscore the mastery required of these sensory-rich disciplines. Our "Three Courses" storytelling framework celebrates the transformation of ordinary ingredients into extraordinary experiences, treating Lexus not merely as vehicles, but as the ultimate ingredients for a life well-lived.
- Course 1 (The Appetizer) launched with the introduction of the latest Lexus Culinary Master, Shota Nakajima, as the face of our “Three Courses” campaign. Rooted in Lexus’ brand platform, “The Standard of Amazing”, the storytelling was designed to elevate culinary craft beyond technical precision, to capture that feeling that a well executed experience creates. Through native articles, premium photography, high-impact print, and both long-form and bite-size social video, we explored the progression of an exquisitely crafted three-course meal. Central to this narrative was Shota’s embodiment of Omotenashi—Lexus’s core brand value of people first—creating deeply personal experiences that are felt, not just engineered.
- Course 2 (The Main) took us to the nation’s most iconic culinary festival—The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen—as the official automotive partner. Through on-the-ground editorial, real-time social capture, expert-crafted culinary creations, and premium brand activations we placed Lexus at the center of the culinary zeitgeist.
- Course 3 (The Dessert) wrapped up the program down in the Low Country at the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston. Here, we once again captured Lexus’ presence and our talent’s career crest through high-impact print, editorial-style photography and video, and native articles, putting a cherry on top of this incredible partnership.
But this project did not come without challenges. Our primary hurdle was managing the logistical and creative complexity of two distinct, large-scale experiential events—in Aspen and in Charleston—within the same cohesive "Three Courses" narrative from our digital and print elements. Within a highly-trafficked festival, it was critical we maintained strict coordination with professional chef talent and took a nimble approach to production—something our Studio excels at—to capture the high-quality, authentic content needed during a live event.
- The "Z-Cover" print gatefold was the #1 ranked advertisement in the entire July 2025 issue of Food & Wine, with 90% of readers (7.5M) noting the ad (1.38x above the issue norm) and 29% considered purchasing
- Post-campaign studies showed that 89% of participants felt the partnership was a "perfect fit," with 88% reporting increased brand favorability
- Premium native content produced a 28.83% engagement rate (11x the benchmark) and an average time spent above 30 seconds (+94% vs. benchmark)
Video for A Three-Course Culinary Journey
