RPA Rolls Out ‘Happy Honda Days’ Social Extension

RPA has launched a social extension of its “Happy Honda Days” campaign, which launched last month featuring nostalgic toys of yesteryear.

The new extension consists of three new videos featuring Skeletor and He-Man, Jem and G.I. Joe, and Gumby and Pokey. The extension was launched yesterday with Skeletor taking over Honda’s Twitter account. Each duo sings a new version of a classic Christmas song (except for Gumby and Pokey, because they don’t know any Christmas songs) and calls on viewers to vote for their rendition. Honda will donate a total of $100,000 to three charities – Children’s Hospital of Orange County, the Little League Urban Initiative and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation — with $50,000 going to the charity associated with the winning video and the other two receiving $25,000 each.

In the most amusing of the three videos, Skeletor sings of his newfound bromance with He-Man to a rendition of “Jingle Bells,” which has been rechristened “Jingle Bros.” According to Skeletor, the duo are now Facebook friends and even got matching tattoos, although it ends with a not-so-surprising twist. In the other videos, G.I. Joe wins over Gem with some Kung Fu moves, and Gumby and Pokey interact with random items. You can watch them on Honda’s YouTube page and vote for your favorite (or just for the associated charity you’d most like to receive money). We’ve included “Jingle Bros” above and the other two videos after the jump. (more…)

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RPA Stokes Nostalgia for ‘Happy Honda Days’

RPA looks to the gifts that you loved receiving as a kid in its “Happy Honda Days” campaign, celebrating such cultural touchstone of yesteryear as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Stretch Armstrong, Strawberry Shortcake and Gumby.

The ads all follow in a similar formula, with each character asking viewers if they remember how excited they were to receive them as a gift, before saying that they can get that same feeling by purchasing a Honda CRV, Civic or Accord. In the 30-second “Skeletor” spot above, for example, the He-Man villain reminds viewers of the exultation they felt when they got him as a holiday gift, before touting the CRV’s rear-view mirror, used to detect danger (in this case, He-Man). Children of the eighties and/or fans of these characters should appreciate the dose of nostalgia present in these ads as they tout the vehicles’ features, and RPA went ahead and applied the formula to half a dozen different characters so viewers don’t grow tired of the same ad.

“Every season consumers are inundated with holiday ads. Our goal is to break through the clutter by tapping into people’s memories of their favorite childhood toys and helping them relive that feeling of getting something they loved for the holidays by getting a great deal on a new Honda at the Happy Honda Days Sales Event,” explained Susie Rossick, senior manager at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The broadcast spot will be supported by print ads in People, Sports Illustrated, and local newspapers in top markets, as well ad network radio ads.

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RPA Goes Back to Basics for Honda

Yesterday we posted on an RPA campaign in which the agency dove into comedic short films for client Honda with the help of funny man Nick Thune.

In today’s offering, RPA does things a bit more traditionally for the same client. Here’s “Music Festival”:

The theme of the spot is “hipsters growing up,” and all the boxes have been checked: Austin, Texas; Portugal. The Man; comfort food; facial hair; throwback fashion.

We like the double twist at the end, though we still wonder whether the guy with the beard would be driving a new Honda.

What is he, an art director?

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RPA Turns Nick Thune into ‘Brad, the Lyft Driver’ for Honda Fit

RPA is debuting a new online series promoting the Honda Fit with “Brad, the Lyft Driver,” a hidden-camera style video starring Nick Thune as Brad, an (overly) accommodating Lyft driver.

The series, directed by Fred Savage (Modern Family, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), shows Thune (in character as Brad) “maintaining a good vibe” while yelling obnoxiously out the window, rehearsing soap opera scenes with passengers, and creating creepy personalized mix tapes. While the antics can be amusing in small doses, the video stretches well past the three minute mark, overstaying its welcome a bit in the process.

As part of its “Fit For You” campaign, RPA is also teaming up with Vine stars Jordan Burt, KC James, Cody Johns and David Lopez for a series of Vine videos with each utilizing the Honda Fit in a video showcasing their individual style. (more…)

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RPA Spreads ‘Summer Cheerance’ for Honda

RPA has launched a new integrated campaign for Honda highlighting the brand’s summer clearance event and attempting to spread summer cheer, under the face-palm worthy title “Summer Cheerance.”

To be fair, “Summer Cheerance” is at least memorable, however irksome the title may be. The campaign includes broadcast spots, print, digital, radio, “an abundance of smile-inducing videos, memes, GIFs and visual jokes via social media” and special events from August 4th until August 8th to promote the Honda Summer Clearance event. As part of the campaign, Honda will donate $100,000 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

“Summer Cheerance” launched today with an introduction video (featured above), as well as a series of short videos designed to be shared on social media to spread summer cheer. For example, one video shows a pig swatting its tail for six seconds, followed by the message “We hope this video added some cheer to your day” and promotes Honda’s event with the #Cheerance hashtag. Other videos include dancing dolphins, an exhausted puppy and an “Epic Gopher.” Additionally, the brand has teamed up with YouTube star Andrew Hales, who will promote the brand with two videos on his YouTube channel. Stick around for a few examples, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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RPA Debuts ‘Fit for You’ for Honda

RPA is promoting the launch of the all new 2015 Honda Fit with an integrated campaign entitled “Fit For You.”

Centered around a pair of 30-second television spots starring actor/comedian Nick Thune, the campaign also includes digital and social media activations, as well as multicultural campaign extensions featuring award-winning drummer Questlove and comedian Felipe Esparza, as well as a promotion in the upcoming game Ultra Street Fighter IV. The TV spots starring Thune, clearly aimed at Generation Y, find Thune answering a series of questions about the Fit and demonstrating its capabilities. Thune assures viewers that the new Honda Fit is “gluten-free,” can fit synths, the Stanley Cup, or even a whole dorm room full of stuff (minus the roommate) and is perfect for a move to Seattle. A further pair of spots will roll out in the coming weeks.

“The campaign takes a typical product demonstration and gives it an unexpected twist to show how the 2015 Honda Fit answers the needs of the customer in a very direct yet humorous way,” said Jeff Conrad, Honda division senior vice president and general manager. “The campaign leverages the Fit’s unique combination of space and versatility plus innovative technology and class-leading fuel efficiency to clearly show that the 2015 Honda Fit is the leader of the subcompact class.” Stick around for credits and a second spot after the jump. (more…)

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RPA Debuts New Work for Honda

RPA has two new spots for Honda that highlight the features and competitive advantages of Honda’s two core vehicles — the Accord and the Civic — continuing the “Start Something Special” tagline introduced last September.

While the copy is a relatively straightforward rundown of features and what sets Honda apart from the competition, the footage was a bit more complicated to capture. The spots use “a complex camera technique called parallax, whereby the camera and scenery are moved in such a way that the car appears to be moving when in actuality it’s standing still.” The Accord spot, for example, was filmed in one single shot, with the last take being the one used in the ad. All effects were done in camera, with elaborate lighting and choreography used to simulate different locations within the spot. RPA collaborated with production company Reset to create the desired effect. Stick around for credits and “Lydia’s Civic” after the jump. continued…

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Fred Armisen Hugs Bruce Willis for Honda, RPA

Since few would argue that the commercials were more interesting than the game last night, chances are you saw RPA’s “Hugfest” spot, featuring Bruce Willis and SNL-alum/Portlandia star Fred Armisen.

The simple, straightforward spot features Willis urging viewers to hug those around them that they care about — “the people that matter to you, matter to us” — as a way of emphasizing Honda’s commitment to safety. Armisen then appears and hugs Willis for the duration of the 60 second spot.

“Our simple, yet engaging, big-game spot is intended to highlight not only Honda’s deep concern for the safety of our customers, but the actual industry-leading crash test results that back up our commitment,” explained Mike Accavitti, senior vice president of auto operations at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The campaign extends beyond the big game spot, with a large social media component utilizing the hashtag #hugfest. During the Super Bowl, Honda posted “real-time video reactions from Willis about events such as penalties, fumbles and referee calls on the brand’s @Honda Twitter feed.” Immediately after the spot aired, Honda encouraged viewers to send virtual hugs (actually Willis hugging the camera) to loved ones who they couldn’t be near during the big game. Today, Honda is collecting hugs via Twitter by asking people “to send a picture or Vine of their hug with the hash tag #hugfest.” Bruce Willis will then respond with a “meme appraisal of the hug.” Additionally, Honda will have a homepage takeovers at MSN and ESPN, where a 30-second spot “How to Hug” video featuring Willis and Armisen will greet visitors to the sites. You can view “How to Hug,” along with credits after the jump. continued…

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RPA’s Optimistic New Campaign for Honda Claims ‘Today is Pretty Great’

More from Honda today, this time with news of RPA’s new “One More Thing to Love About Today” campaign — featuring “print, digital and TV spots, speaking to the optimism of today’s youth.”

Like Orci’s “Gol!Gol!” spot for Honda’s Hispanic campaign, “Today is Pretty Great,” the campaign’s full-length online debut, centers around an original song — in this case by blues rock band Vintage Trouble. The band begins by focusing on the negative, claiming “Yeah it’s worse than ever, but that’s just where we’re at,” before being interrupted by a young woman who answers, “Except, it’s not.” Her thoughts are soon echoed by a chorus of optimistic young people. The remainder of the spot focuses on all the things to love about today: mostly cultural references designed to appeal to Millenials, like Adventure Time and Nyan Cat (which, strictly speaking, is more 2011 than today). Around halfway through the spot, Vintage Trouble change their tune, seemingly convinced by the unbridled optimism of the chorus of young whippersnappers. The 2014 Civic Coupe and Si Coupe are featured throughout the ad, which ends with the hashtag #LoveToday, designed to draw Millenials into the conversation.

A 30 second TV spot debuts today on network and cable television and will run through February. Appropriately, the campaign is complemented by mobile and social media endeavors, such as “sole sponsorship of a first-to-market digital scrapbook on…Spotify,” offering full-song previews on SoundHound, “sole ownership of MTV’s Artist to Watch 2014 program, featuring a live digital stream of the Artist to Watch concert,” homepage takeovers on MSN and Yahoo, and mobile placements in popular games like Scramble With Friends and MoviePop. Stay tuned for the 30 second TV spot and credits after the jump. continued…

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