Eternals: Kumail Nanjiani tries to park his Lexus in spot directed by Russos

Eternals
(Kumail Nijiani is Eternally Lexus)

Some things are worth preserving at all costs. If you’re Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) in Marvel Studios’ Eternals, this includes your gleaming new Lexus IS 500 sports sedan. And it’s our Reel Ad of the Week.

As the exclusive automotive partner of Marvel StudiosEternals, Lexus has dropped a marketing campaign today with a long-form video titled “Parking Spot.” In the two-minute piece, Kingo has to solve a very human problem before he can join the epic Super Hero battle happening downtown — finding a safe parking spot for his new Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance, the most powerful IS ever, with a 472-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 engine.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Lexus to give viewers an early look at one of our new heroes, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, in action. Lexus’ creative campaign is appropriately epic, delivering the same combination of action, spectacle and humor our fans will see in the film,” said Mindy Hamilton, SVP, Global Partnership Marketing at Marvel Studios.

In the spot, created by Team One and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Kingo is tasked with searching for a parking spot, trying to avoid everything from meteors to birds. The brothers have directed four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including one of the highest-grossing films of all time, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame. Viewers who pay close attention to “Parking Spot” will notice a few MCU Easter eggs.

In order to achieve the level of VFX viewers expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lexus enlisted the Oscar-winning visual effects company Framestore. Watch below:

Did you see the Easter Eggs? “There’s a natural synergy between Marvel Studios and Lexus. We both go all-in to deliver amazing experiences,” said Vinay Shahani, Lexus vice president of marketing. “We’re incredibly excited to team up with Marvel Studios’ ‘Eternals’ to showcase our very own superhero, the first-ever V8 IS 500, which ushers in a new Lexus F SPORT Performance Line.”

This isn’t the first collab between Lexus and Marvel. In 2018, to launch Black Panther, the auto brand teamed with agency Walton Isaacson.

To highlight their Disney+ streaming series, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki, Lexus teamed with Hyundai.



Marvel Studios’ Eternals centers on an exciting new team of superheroes who have lived on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who made Oscar history as the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for best director. In addition to Kumail Nanjiani, the film stars Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee and Kit Harrington. Watch the trailer below:


REELated: Elton John is skint and Lil Nas X questions it in hilarious Uber Eats campaign


The spot also features the new voice of Lexus, actor Gaius Charles. The fresh new voice of Lexus for general market advertising marks the latest chapter in the Lexus brand evolution.

“Parking Spot” will headline the high-profile marketing campaign, set to appear in a wide range of media placements, from special events to Lexus dealerships.

A 30-second version of the spot will air on cable and in cable sports, as well as during college football, NHL and soccer. In addition to broadcast, the campaign includes advanced TV, digital and social. The Lexus LS 500 flagship sedan and the all-new NX luxury crossover will make appearances in the film.

Marvel Studios’ Eternals hits U.S. theaters on November 5, 2021.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: Lexus

AGENCY: TEAM ONE

  • Chief Creative Officer: Chris Graves 
  • Executive Creative Director: Jason Stinsmuehlen 
  • Creative Director: Jesse Blatz 
  • Creative Director: Matt Lanzdorf  
  • Director of Content Production/EP: Sam Walsh  
  • Lead Live-Action Producer: Evan Aronson 
  • Senior Producer: Sascha Peuckert 
  • Assoc. Producer: Robert Holeman 
  • Music Supervisor: Neil Cleary
  • Account Director: Amy Oars  
  • Account Supervisor: Nate Giddings, Rachel DeLesk
  • Account Executive: Ashly Amey 
  • Account Coordinator: Chandler McKee
  • Associate Director of Project Management: Jamie Lau 
  • Director of Business Affairs: David Peake
  • Business Affairs Manager: Jessica Solorzano
  • Management Supervisor, Product Insights: Joe Rigonan 
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Mike Shin
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Paul Watson 
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Vincent Scott 

THE PUB LOS ANGELES / DELIVERY

  • Director, Multimedia: Bryan Cook
  • Senior Producer: Veronica Santana
  • Assistant Editor: Vicente Lopez

PRODUCTION COMPANY: BULLITT

  • Director: Anthony Russo 
  • Director: Joe Russo 
  • Director: Anthony Leonardi 
  • President/EP: Luke Ricci 
  • EP/HOP: Jenni Sprunger  
  • Producer: Diane Castrup  
  • Director of Photography: Bojan Bazelli
  • Add Director of Photography: Ben Kitchens

EDIT: Whitehouse Editorial LA

  • Executive Producer: Joanna Manning 
  • Post Producer: Lucia Villalta
  • Editor: Josh Bodnar 
  • Assistant Editor: Joe Carugati 

COLOR: Framestore LA

  • Colorist: Beau Leon
  • Color Assist: Evan Reinhard, Nabil Moo
  • Associate Producer: Jamie Runkle

VISUAL EFFECTS: Framestore LA

  • Creative Director: Alex Thomas
  • Executive Producer: Pete King
  • Senior VFX & Color Producer: Andrew McLintock
  • CG Supervisor: Clement Renaudin
  • Composting Supervisor: JD Yepes
  • Associate Producer: Jose Alvarado
  • VFX Coordinator: Christian Williams

CG

  • Modeling Supervisor: Marco Amador
  • Head of Rigging: George Saavedra
  • LookDev: Andrew Thompson, Soren Barton
  • Textures: Justin Lecat
  • Layout Supervisor: Sean Dollins
  • Head of Data Capture: Fabio Zapata
  • Integration: Luis Rodriguez
  • Animator: Edwin Schaap, Kevin Rooney, Sean Curran
  • FX Supervisor: Victor Grant
  • FX: Aidan Merryman, Kjell Strode, William VonJess
  • Lighting Supervisor: Richard Shallcross
  • Lighting : Aldrich Torres, Cinzia Pegorin, Jessica Groom – Shelton, Kaho Horiuchi, Kris Cabera, Pota Tseng

2D

  • Compositor: Alexander Osvaldsson, Antoine Vinette-Lambert, Bruno De La Calva, Carlos Adarraga Gomez, Christopher Mosiadz, Claire Le Teuff, Craig Tozzi, Jesus Yapor, Kung Hang Wu, Oliver Ferguson-Taylor, Paul Krist, Samuel Jorgensen
  • Flame Artist: Sarah Marikar
  • Digital Matte Painter: Chris Sanchez, Pete Pace, Steven Messing

Editorial

VFX Editor: Chris Hamilton, Dustin Indrebo

Previz

  • Producer: Katherine Buckley
  • Associate Producer: Emily Rawl
  • Generalist: Todd Herman

MUSIC COMPOSITION: SCORETEK 

  • Composer: Nicholas O’Toole 
  • Producer: Nicholas O’Toole  

SOUND DESIGN/MIX: IMN CREATIVE

  • Sound Supervisor, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer: Mark Binder 
  • Studio Operations Manager: Buck Mason 
  • Co-Sound Supervisor, Dialogue Editor: Elliot Hartley 
  • Re-recording Mixer: Trevor Cress 
  • Sound Effects Editor: Donald Flick  
  • Foley Mixer, Foley Editor: Vu Le 
  • ADR Coordinator: Campbell Irwin  
  • Engineering: Ryan Winston 

VO RECORD: MARGARITA MIX

  • Mixer: Bruce Bueckert, Bob Gremore
  • Assistants: Mike Murzyn, Sean Melia & Brian Frank
  • Executive Producer: Whitney Morris
Shriekfest

Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1

Eternals
(Kumail Nijiani is Eternally Lexus)

Some things are worth preserving at all costs. If you’re Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) in Marvel Studios’ Eternals, this includes your gleaming new Lexus IS 500 sports sedan. And it’s our Reel Ad of the Week.

As the exclusive automotive partner of Marvel StudiosEternals, Lexus has dropped a marketing campaign today with a long-form video titled “Parking Spot.” In the two-minute piece, Kingo has to solve a very human problem before he can join the epic Super Hero battle happening downtown — finding a safe parking spot for his new Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance, the most powerful IS ever, with a 472-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 engine.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Lexus to give viewers an early look at one of our new heroes, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, in action. Lexus’ creative campaign is appropriately epic, delivering the same combination of action, spectacle and humor our fans will see in the film,” said Mindy Hamilton, SVP, Global Partnership Marketing at Marvel Studios.

In the spot, created by Team One and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Kingo is tasked with searching for a parking spot, trying to avoid everything from meteors to birds. The brothers have directed four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including one of the highest-grossing films of all time, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame. Viewers who pay close attention to “Parking Spot” will notice a few MCU Easter eggs.

In order to achieve the level of VFX viewers expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lexus enlisted the Oscar-winning visual effects company Framestore. Watch below:

Did you see the Easter Eggs? “There’s a natural synergy between Marvel Studios and Lexus. We both go all-in to deliver amazing experiences,” said Vinay Shahani, Lexus vice president of marketing. “We’re incredibly excited to team up with Marvel Studios’ ‘Eternals’ to showcase our very own superhero, the first-ever V8 IS 500, which ushers in a new Lexus F SPORT Performance Line.”

This isn’t the first collab between Lexus and Marvel. In 2018, to launch Black Panther, the auto brand teamed with agency Walton Isaacson.

To highlight their Disney+ streaming series, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki, Lexus teamed with Hyundai.



Marvel Studios’ Eternals centers on an exciting new team of superheroes who have lived on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who made Oscar history as the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for best director. In addition to Kumail Nanjiani, the film stars Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee and Kit Harrington. Watch the trailer below:


REELated: Elton John is skint and Lil Nas X questions it in hilarious Uber Eats campaign


The spot also features the new voice of Lexus, actor Gaius Charles. The fresh new voice of Lexus for general market advertising marks the latest chapter in the Lexus brand evolution.

“Parking Spot” will headline the high-profile marketing campaign, set to appear in a wide range of media placements, from special events to Lexus dealerships.

A 30-second version of the spot will air on cable and in cable sports, as well as during college football, NHL and soccer. In addition to broadcast, the campaign includes advanced TV, digital and social. The Lexus LS 500 flagship sedan and the all-new NX luxury crossover will make appearances in the film.

Marvel Studios’ Eternals hits U.S. theaters on November 5, 2021.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: Lexus

AGENCY: TEAM ONE

  • Chief Creative Officer: Chris Graves 
  • Executive Creative Director: Jason Stinsmuehlen 
  • Creative Director: Jesse Blatz 
  • Creative Director: Matt Lanzdorf  
  • Director of Content Production/EP: Sam Walsh  
  • Lead Live-Action Producer: Evan Aronson 
  • Senior Producer: Sascha Peuckert 
  • Assoc. Producer: Robert Holeman 
  • Music Supervisor: Neil Cleary
  • Account Director: Amy Oars  
  • Account Supervisor: Nate Giddings, Rachel DeLesk
  • Account Executive: Ashly Amey 
  • Account Coordinator: Chandler McKee
  • Associate Director of Project Management: Jamie Lau 
  • Director of Business Affairs: David Peake
  • Business Affairs Manager: Jessica Solorzano
  • Management Supervisor, Product Insights: Joe Rigonan 
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Mike Shin
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Paul Watson 
  • Senior Product Insights Manager: Vincent Scott 

THE PUB LOS ANGELES / DELIVERY

  • Director, Multimedia: Bryan Cook
  • Senior Producer: Veronica Santana
  • Assistant Editor: Vicente Lopez

PRODUCTION COMPANY: BULLITT

  • Director: Anthony Russo 
  • Director: Joe Russo 
  • Director: Anthony Leonardi 
  • President/EP: Luke Ricci 
  • EP/HOP: Jenni Sprunger  
  • Producer: Diane Castrup  
  • Director of Photography: Bojan Bazelli
  • Add Director of Photography: Ben Kitchens

EDIT: Whitehouse Editorial LA

  • Executive Producer: Joanna Manning 
  • Post Producer: Lucia Villalta
  • Editor: Josh Bodnar 
  • Assistant Editor: Joe Carugati 

COLOR: Framestore LA

  • Colorist: Beau Leon
  • Color Assist: Evan Reinhard, Nabil Moo
  • Associate Producer: Jamie Runkle

VISUAL EFFECTS: Framestore LA

  • Creative Director: Alex Thomas
  • Executive Producer: Pete King
  • Senior VFX & Color Producer: Andrew McLintock
  • CG Supervisor: Clement Renaudin
  • Composting Supervisor: JD Yepes
  • Associate Producer: Jose Alvarado
  • VFX Coordinator: Christian Williams

CG

  • Modeling Supervisor: Marco Amador
  • Head of Rigging: George Saavedra
  • LookDev: Andrew Thompson, Soren Barton
  • Textures: Justin Lecat
  • Layout Supervisor: Sean Dollins
  • Head of Data Capture: Fabio Zapata
  • Integration: Luis Rodriguez
  • Animator: Edwin Schaap, Kevin Rooney, Sean Curran
  • FX Supervisor: Victor Grant
  • FX: Aidan Merryman, Kjell Strode, William VonJess
  • Lighting Supervisor: Richard Shallcross
  • Lighting : Aldrich Torres, Cinzia Pegorin, Jessica Groom – Shelton, Kaho Horiuchi, Kris Cabera, Pota Tseng

2D

  • Compositor: Alexander Osvaldsson, Antoine Vinette-Lambert, Bruno De La Calva, Carlos Adarraga Gomez, Christopher Mosiadz, Claire Le Teuff, Craig Tozzi, Jesus Yapor, Kung Hang Wu, Oliver Ferguson-Taylor, Paul Krist, Samuel Jorgensen
  • Flame Artist: Sarah Marikar
  • Digital Matte Painter: Chris Sanchez, Pete Pace, Steven Messing

Editorial

VFX Editor: Chris Hamilton, Dustin Indrebo

Previz

  • Producer: Katherine Buckley
  • Associate Producer: Emily Rawl
  • Generalist: Todd Herman

MUSIC COMPOSITION: SCORETEK 

  • Composer: Nicholas O’Toole 
  • Producer: Nicholas O’Toole  

SOUND DESIGN/MIX: IMN CREATIVE

  • Sound Supervisor, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer: Mark Binder 
  • Studio Operations Manager: Buck Mason 
  • Co-Sound Supervisor, Dialogue Editor: Elliot Hartley 
  • Re-recording Mixer: Trevor Cress 
  • Sound Effects Editor: Donald Flick  
  • Foley Mixer, Foley Editor: Vu Le 
  • ADR Coordinator: Campbell Irwin  
  • Engineering: Ryan Winston 

VO RECORD: MARGARITA MIX

  • Mixer: Bruce Bueckert, Bob Gremore
  • Assistants: Mike Murzyn, Sean Melia & Brian Frank
  • Executive Producer: Whitney Morris
Shriekfest

Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1