Lexus Hoverboard. Engineering a Brand Moment

Lexus builds a hoverboard. On purpose.

Lexus does not build a hoverboard to sell it.

They build it to show what the brand stands for.

The Lexus Hoverboard is a real, rideable board that levitates above the ground using magnetic levitation. It is not CGI. It is not a concept sketch. It is engineered, tested, and demonstrated.

This is brand storytelling executed through engineering, not advertising copy.

How the hoverboard actually works

The hoverboard uses magnetic levitation technology.

Superconductors inside the board are cooled with liquid nitrogen. When placed above a specially designed magnetic track, the board locks into position and floats.

The result is controlled levitation. Not free roaming, but stable, directional hovering that makes riding possible.

The constraints are part of the point. This is not science fiction. It is applied physics.

Why Lexus created it anyway

Lexus positions itself around precision, control, and advanced engineering.

The hoverboard compresses those values into a single, highly visual artifact. You do not need to read a brochure to understand it. You see it.

By placing professional skateboarders on a levitating board in a custom-built skate park, Lexus turns engineering into a cultural moment.

This is not a product launch

The hoverboard is not a prototype for future mobility.

It is a brand signal.

Lexus shows that it can take complex technology, make it work in the real world, and present it in a way that feels controlled rather than chaotic.

That matters in categories where trust in engineering is everything.

What this says about modern brand building

Brands increasingly compete on what they can demonstrate, not what they can claim.

When technology is real, visible, and difficult to fake, it carries more weight than messaging.

The Lexus Hoverboard works because it is unnecessary. It exists only to make a point.


A few fast answers before you act

Is this a real hoverboard?
Yes. It levitates using superconductors and magnetic tracks, not visual effects.

Why can it only be used in specific locations?
Because the magnetic infrastructure is part of the system.

What is Lexus really selling here?
Confidence in engineering, precision, and control.

The world’s most interactive print ad

On a number of occasions I have featured examples of brands creating interactive print ads. In this latest example, the new Lexus 2013 ES is seen changing colors, turning on its headlights and exposing its interiors while music plays in this interactive print ad for the October 15th Sports Illustrated issue.

Lexus NFC Enabled Print Ad

Brands like Mercedes Benz, Reporters Without Borders, Volkswagen etc have all been working hard to create clutter breaking and engaging print ads.

In this latest example of an interactive print ad, Wired magazine and Lexus have teamed up to create what they say is the first mass-produced print ad embedded with a NFC tag. The ad, which could be found in 500,000 subscriber copies of Wired’s April issue, allowed readers who have NFC enabled phones to access a demo of the Lexus GS 2013’s Enform App Suite simply by holding their phone up to the ad.