Hasta La Creative!

RPA launched a new, music-fueled campaign for Honda, promoting the Honda Summer Clearance Event.

In “Red,” a man falls in love with a 2016 Accord LX Sedan (which is not red, surprisingly) to the tune of Beyoncé‘s “Crazy in Love,” as performed by a doo-wop style vocal group. When asked if he likes it by a sales representative he tries to play it casual, but has a terrible poker face. Also, the dashboard caress is a tad creepy. 

The rest of the spots in the campaign all follow the same basic approach, albeit with different music and car models. Other love songs turned vehicular infatuation songs are “Head Over Heels” in “Float” and “Take My Breath Away” in “Angels.” Kelly Clarkson gets some love in spot “Dress” as well. We’re not sure the dramatic and cheesy approach does a lot to sell the cars in question but the spots are at least different enough to stand out from the summer clearance sale pack.

“Ultimately, our goal is to break through the car sales-event clutter and remind people that summer is the best time to get a great deal on a Honda,” Honda assistant vice president of marketing Susie Rossick told Adweek.

For all of Lean In's strongly phrased criticisms of the modern corporate world, author Sheryl Sandberg still seems to spark the most debate with one seemingly innocuous opinion: We shouldn't call girls "bossy."

"When a girl tries to lead, she is often labeled bossy," Sandberg wrote. "Boys are seldom called bossy because a boy taking the role of a boss does not surprise or offend."

Since Lean In's publication a year ago this week, Sanberg continues to draw criticism for her belief that girls should be praised for leadership skills rather than being called bossy. As recently as last month, Inc. columnist and HR veteran Suzanne Lucas wrote about the passage: "Bossy is not leadership. In fact, bossy is the opposite of leadership."

But Sandberg is leaning in to her position, and she's bringing some friends. Beyonce, Jennifer Garner, Condoleezza Rice, Jane Lynch and other high-profile women have come together to support LeanIn.org's "Ban Bossy" campaign. 

"I'm not Bossy," Beyonce announces. "I'm the boss." 

The campaign also includes a spot by BBDO, showing young girls describing how they will lose their motivation to lead in middle school under social pressure to not be bossy.

Co-sponsored by the Girl Scouts, the digital campaign encourages women and men to post #BanBossy messages to social media, helping encourage girls to be opinionated without fear of pushback.

Critics will continue to say that bossy behavior should be discouraged and that it's important to foster a sense of civility in leadership. But actress Jennifer Garner notes that as long as we continue to use the word "bossy" as a criticism unfairly leveled against girls, we'll continue to breed silence, not leadership: "When a little girl is called bossy when she leads, it's telling her to be quiet. I don't want girls to be quiet. I want them to roar!"

Who is your favorite Beyonce? Is it “Bootylicious” Beyonce? Sasha Fierce? “Crazy in Love” Beyonce? There’s always the more traditional millionaire mogul/super-duper female role model Bey, the one who signed the Pepsi endorsement deal that brought us to this point. In “Mirrors,” which comes to us from 180 LA and features Mrs. Carter’s track, “Grown Woman,” you don’t have to choose a favorite Beyonce, because they are all there for you to admire. The 60-second spot is part of Pepsi’s “Live for Now” campaign.

I’m not sure what Beyonce or Pepsi has to do with the idea of living for now. And Coke tastes much better, had to throw that in there. But Pepsi has been making strides in the music industry, helping to brand popular and upcoming artists to enormous audiences. This spot evokes the Gatorade “Who Got Next” commercial from a few years ago with Michael Jordan playing one-on-one against earlier versions of himself. That was clever and made sense with the brand; this doesn’t, but it’s Beyonce, so everyone will gawk at her on YouTube or their television screens. Maybe they should. #BeyHereNow.

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