It’s been about a month since ‘Honda’ launched their latest ad campaign, ‘Stepping’. I wouldn’t say it’s their greatest advert, but it’s admittedly clever choreography, and it does leave an impact.
However, watching their advert has made me realise that one of my favourite brands has created a lot of good TV advertisements this year, more than most. So, that little fact gave me the inspiration to count down the greatest ‘Honda’ TV adverts so far.
No.10 – ‘Keep Up’ (2015)
A fast-paced advert which encourages viewers to speed-read, this was sadly banned by the A.S.A. since it allegedly promoted dangerous driving through it’s emphasis of ‘speed’. However, I’m on ‘Honda’s’ side, to say that it promoted generating ideas at high speed, not driving at high speeds. Nevertheless, seeing this on a cinema screen with booming surround-sound left me breathless.
No.9 – ‘Problem Playground’ (2008)
‘Honda’ like to think big, and they most certainly thought ‘big’ with this advert. Used to promote the companies green credentials, this involves a group of people, supposedly from the company, completing giant puzzles to show off both the efficiency and innovation of the brand in one go. Just the first section would have been clever enough, but they go above and beyond that to prove how great they are.
No.8 – ‘Sound of Honda / Aryton Senna 1989’ (2014)
It’s kind of odd that I’ve only included one Japanese advert from this Japanese company, but I’ve chosen a good one. This was an emotional tribute to the late Aryton Senna, who was killed when he crashed his racing car mid-lap 25 years earlier. Using nothing but sound and light effects, the team recreated the essence of Senna’s final lap, proving that his spirit is still a part of racing culture to this day.
No.7 – ‘Paper’ (2015)
I remember watching the short film, ‘Fresh Guacamole’ by PES, for the first time in 2012. It made me wonder what his Oscar nomination would lead him to. So, it wasn’t surprising when I saw ‘Honda’ embrace his talents, as he created a stop-motion advert, done entirely with cut and folded sheets of paper. Keep an eye out for PES, because he’s bound to create even more brilliant adverts for equally brilliant companies in the future.
No.6 – ‘Choir’ (2006)
Another advert to embrace how their cars sound, but this time, doing it from scratch. This advert involves an A Cappella choir, who replicate various ‘driving sounds’ with only their voices, intercut with muted clips of real-life driving. This gives the ‘Civic’, for like of a better term, a humanistic appeal, and demonstrates that even driving your every-day route can become an experience.
No.5 – ‘Difficult is Worth Doing’ (2008)
It’s one thing to do an advertisement live, it’s another thing to do something in that advert which could cost someone their life. This Spanish advertisement has a simple premise: record a group of sky-divers spell the word ‘HONDA’, from a birds-eye view, as they fall top the ground at over 100mph. The results are some stunning footage which kept all 2.2 million viewers this on the edge of their seats.
No.4 – ‘Everything’ (2009)
Split-screen editing is taken to new levels in this advert, as the various ‘Honda’ vehicles, both on land and water, are sliced together into a pastiche of different modes of transportation. It’s hard to grasp just how the team behind this managed to story-board the advert, since it’s so fast and complex. And, because it’s complex, I like to watch this advert over and over again.
No.3 – ‘Hands’ (2013)
If many hands could make light work, just 2 hands should make less, right? Wrong! This genius piece of advertising shows the P.O.V. shot of a genius at work, brainstorming the ideas for ‘Honda’ products of various shapes and sizes, as they come to life in his palms. An advert that’s innovative, funny, and classically ‘Honda’, proves what they often say; great ideas can be at the tips of your fingers.
No.2 – ‘The Impossible Dream’ (2005)
Sometimes, all you need to make a great advert is a budget, a sense of humour, and an even better sense of heart. This featured a man driving various ‘Honda’ vehicles, starting with the old and ending with the new, miming to the Andy Williams song of the same name. Achieving even greater recognition during tor 2006 Fifa World Cup, an extended adversement was made in 2010, anchoring this as one of their greatest adverts yet.
Honourable Mentions
‘Ignition’ (2015) – Stunning cinematography gave the brand a space-age feel, without the vehicles on show ever moving an inch.
‘Inner Beauty’ (2014) – A strange yet captivating form of stop-motion animation, this advert captures the functionality of the ‘Civic’ from the inside out.
‘Grrr’ (2004) – Don’t be fooled by the adverts name. This is a childish, yet enjoyable advert which gave ‘Honda’ a greener, more friendly appeal.
‘Go Everywhere’ (2012) – More vibrant, playful and musically influenced than your typical ‘Honda’ advert, this helped to make the company more marketable to the South African market.
No.1 – ‘The Cog’ (2003)
Everybody loves a good Rube Goldberg machine, so ‘Honda’ took advantage of that love by building one out of the pieces which make up the ‘Accord’. The beauty of this advert is that whilst most car-adverts focus on the car as a whole, this one focused on the components piece-by-piece, making anyone who watches it utterly fixated with what the car can do.
So, do you agree with my list? What do you think is the greatest ‘Honda’ TV advert? Feel free to let me know in the comments below!
