The Lexus of Love Letters

Perceptual artist Michael Murphy transforms 2,000 customer thank you letters into art installation celebrating Lexus guest experience

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Lexus

Mar 08, 2018, 12:00 ET

PLANO, Texas, March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, "Letters" — a 3-D installation by perceptual art pioneer Michael Murphy — is revealed as part of a new marketing campaign celebrating the Lexus guest experience. The 16-foot art piece, which hangs from six ceiling panels and a steel frame, features more than 2,000 suspended pieces of origami, each constructed from individual thank you letters from guests to their Lexus dealerships. From one vantage point, the origami art pieces create the shape of the all-new 2018 LS sedan, while from another vantage point it takes the shape of the Lexus logo.

Today Lexus reveals "Letters" — a 3-D installation by perceptual art pioneer Michael Murphy featuring more than 2,000 suspended pieces of origami made from customer thank you letters — as part of a new marketing campaign celebrating its guest experience.

"Lexus crafts experiences for its guests with the same level of care it crafts its vehicles," said Cooper Ericksen, Lexus vice president of marketing. "Using actual letters sent to our dealerships shows how each interaction, large or small, makes the overall Lexus experience exceptional. These experiences are the very DNA of what makes Lexus, Lexus."

With the brand's launch in 1989, Lexus reinvented the luxury car market — introducing new levels of service, customer satisfaction, and quality never before offered by any of the leading brands of the time. That commitment, captured in the Lexus Covenant, is the inspiration for the "Letters" campaign. It is a pledge to value the customer as an important individual, to do things right the first time, and to always exceed expectations. "The Lexus Covenant is what drives dealers and associates to treat customers as they would treat guests in their own home and to go to any lengths to serve them better," added Ericksen.

To showcase the installation, Lexus has created a 60-second video featuring guests reading their handwritten letters to dealerships as a Lexus craftsman carefully folds and hangs each one. One reads, "It is with a very grateful heart that I write you about your amazing employees," while another adds, "Eric volunteered to come to my rescue that evening as soon as Lexus closed" and "Brad met me personally in the service bay." A mother concludes with "This may seem like a little thing, but to a mom, these things really matter. My three-year-old even noticed, and said, 'He wanted to be sure we were really safe, didn't he?'"

The video is being shared on Hulu and Pandora, as well as displayed through other strategic online and social integrations.

Murphy refers to his pieces as perceptual art because the main emphasis of the work is on the viewers' perception. "I took my ability to make things and combined it with my passion to create experiences for people and put them together," said Murphy. The project took hundreds of hours to complete, with the folding and hanging of each origami piece taking nearly 200 hours. "This is a very tight, precise craft," added Murphy. "If it is more than one millimeter off it is considered an error."

The "Letters" art installation – which measures 8-feet wide by 16-feet long, and is suspended 13 feet from the ground – was designed by the artist to be fully transportable, making it available for viewing at select corporate and dealer events across the country. For more information, visit lexus.com/guest-experience.

About Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy is a well-known and respected visual artist who helped pioneer perceptual art, and is one of the first – and best – at creating large 3-D installations. Murphy has previously worked with a long list of popular brands, including Nike, Air Jordan, TIME, NPR, Disney and the Obama presidential campaign. He was the ideal selection for the "Letters" campaign not only due to his innovative technique, but because he established a career in art not just to create something for people to see, but to create art that people can experience.

About Lexus
Lexus' passion for brave design, imaginative technology, and exhilarating performance enables the luxury lifestyle brand to create amazing experiences for its customers. Lexus began its journey in 1989 with two luxury sedans and a commitment to pursue perfection. Since then, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of global luxury customers in more than 90 countries. In the United States, Lexus vehicles are sold through 240 dealers offering a full lineup of luxury vehicles. With six models incorporating Lexus Hybrid Drive, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader. Lexus also offers six F SPORT models and two F performance models. Lexus is committed to being a visionary brand that anticipates the future for luxury customers.

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