CHI&Partners Unveils First Image of Real-Life Lexus Hoverboard

CHI&Partners has today revealed the first images of its real-life ‘Lexus Hoverboard’, which will take to the air later this year in the fourth ‘Amazing in Motion’ project for Lexus.

Having striven to achieve the inconceivable across the entire multi-award-winning ‘Amazing in Motion’ series, CHI&Partners has taken it one step further this time – partnering with global leaders in super-conductive technology to create a real, ride-able hoverboard, which operates through magnetic levitation.

The Lexus Hoverboard combines liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets to achieve amazing frictionless movement. Made of materials found in Lexus’ luxury cars, the board features the iconic Lexus spindle grille signature shape.

CHI&Partners will release images of the board across digital, social and editorial media globally in the build-up to the campaign, inviting the world to join it in anticipation of the unprecedented launch.

The campaign was created by Brad Woolf and Dan Bailey and overseen by Creative Director Monty Verdi.

Monty Verdi, Creative Director at CHI&Partners, who has worked across all three ‘Amazing in Motion’ campaigns, said: “Each new Lexus ‘Amazing in Motion’ project has been more boundary-breaking than the last, and we’re incredibly proud of all three. This time, we wanted to achieve something truly unimaginable, and we’ve worked tirelessly to make it happen. Now the Lexus Hoverboard is a reality, we’re counting down the days until the world gets to see it in motion. We hope millions of people across the world will join us in our countdown.”

Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said; "At Lexus, we constantly challenge ourselves and our partners to push the boundaries of what is possible. That determination, combined with our passion and expertise for design and innovation, is what led us to take on the Hoverboard project. It’s the perfect example of the amazing things that can be achieved when you combine technology, design and imagination.”

CHI&Partners’ 2013 projects for Lexus International, ‘Steps’ and Cannes-Lion-winning ‘Swarm’, respectively featured an iconic choreographed stunt using 11-foot tall puppets and a real swarm of quadcopter robots exploring downtown Vancouver.

Last year’s project ‘Strobe’ saw acrobats and stuntment in LED ‘lightsuits’ suspended across Kuala Lumpur’s night skyline and lit up in succession to create the illusion of one sole ‘lightman’s’ acrobatic journey across the skyline.

All three were shot in-camera with no added CGI, and all involved feats of technology, engineering and sheer human endeavor. The series has picked up awards at ceremonies worldwide, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio Awards, Eurobest, Epica, London International Awards, Campaign Big Awards, Kinsale Shark Awards, BTA Craft Awards and The A-List Hollywood Film Advertising Craft Awards.