Lexus and AKQA launch The Summers We Keep

Lexus and AKQA today unveiled The Summers We Keep, the third film in their creative partnership built on innovation,craftsmanship and compelling storytelling.

Created for Lexus' digital and owned channels and designed for adaptation across markets, the film demonstrates how innovation can scale craft across every touchpoint, enabling consistent, high-quality storytelling at every stage of the customer journey.

Set against the backdrop of a European summer, The Summers We Keep is a sweeping, emotional tribute to the season's fleeting nature. The film follows a series of adventures inspired by the simple mementos we collect along the way, exploring how memories are made, shared and carried forward. Throughout the film, the Lexus LBX serves as a catalyst for discovery and a home base for the experiences that become the summers we keep.

As part of Google's Impossible Ad initiative, Google DeepMind selected The Summers We Keep as a flagship example of how artificial intelligence can enhance creativity while keeping human ingenuity at the centre of the process.

The film was showcased today during Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity as part of a discussion hosted by Google DeepMind and WPP. Leaders from Lexus and AKQA shared how predictive cultural intelligence, advanced AI workflows and human craftsmanship are shaping the future of creative production.

The trilogy began with Built for Every Kind of Wonder and continued with Energy That Drives You On. With each film, Lexus and AKQA have explored how emerging technologies can elevate storytelling while preserving the creativity, emotion and craftsmanship that audiences expect from premium brands.

The Summers We Keep began not in production, but in insight.

Using AKQA's proprietary Cultural Intelligence platform, the team identified emerging signals shaping how people would experience and talk about summer across Europe. Those insights informed the narrative, visual world and creative development from the outset, helping the team understand what would resonate before concepting began.

The platform also informed details throughout the film, from locations and environments to experiences and objects predicted to trend across the region, enabling a story designed for cultural relevance from the ground up.

Building on those insights, AKQA's Virtual Studio brought the vision to life through a next-generation content engine combining cinematic storytelling, proprietary workflows and advanced AI technologies. The production was further enhanced through early access to Google's next-generation AI models, integrated into AKQA's Virtual Studio pipeline, alongside collaboration with T&P, whose "Life Happens in My LBX" positioning helped inspire the creative brief.

The result demonstrates how predictive cultural intelligence, advanced creative workflows and human craftsmanship can come together to create more resonant storytelling.

Lexus Brand and Communications Manager, Rudy Boeman, said: "The Summers We Keep reflects Lexus' commitment to creating meaningful connections through storytelling that both engages our audiences emotionally and resonates with emerging cultural trends. Working with AKQA, we have continued to explore new creative approaches that allow us to maintain the highest standards of craft while adapting content for audiences across Europe. The result is a film that captures the spirit of the season and demonstrates how innovation can help bring exceptional stories to life at scale."

AKQA Creative Director, Jakob Mark said: "With Lexus, we've had the opportunity to continuously evolve how we create stories. This film demonstrates that we can work with fore-front innovation, and don't sacrifice on craft. By combining Cultural Intelligence and partnering with Google using their newest technology through our Virtual Studio workflows, we can understand what will resonate before we begin creating, then bring those stories to life with the same level of care, creativity and craftsmanship that defines everything we do. In telling great stories, technology should be transparent and simply enable full creative freedom."