Hasta La Creative!

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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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 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 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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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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If there’s one thing the Internet loves (aside from cats and pornography), it’s cheesy celebrities from bygone eras. This has accounted for the revival of figures like Rick Astley, who has reemerged in the public consciousness thanks to rickrolling. RPA seeks to cash in on the phenomenon with their “Happy Honda Days” campaign, featuring Michael Bolton, the man once referred to as a “no-talent ass clown” in Office Space who returns to advertising after stints in spots like the one for Optimum earlier this year.

The campaign contains four new spots, all of which feature Bolton singing. Each spot begins by asking “What does it feel like to get a great deal at Happy Honda Days?” before answering with an original holiday song from Michael Bolton. (These would have been much funnier if they had made Bolton sing “When a Man Loves a Honda,” but I digress…) Our favorite is the spot featured above, in which Bolton’s singing is met by blank stares (probably the most honestly depicted reaction of the four spots/how we would react in that situation). As you can surmise, RPA went for the goofy approach with this campaign, in the hopes that people find the spots memorable. It would help if there was a little more variation among the four 30 second ads, as they all feel like basically the same spot. In addition to the TV campaign, there will be a live social media event on November 22nd featuring Bolton delivering personalized messaged under the promoted hashtag #XOXOBolton, as well as print and radio campaigns.

We don’t know about you, but we can’t see or hear anything about Michael Bolton without thinking of this. Credits and second “Happy Honda Days” spot after the jump. continued…

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Do you hate your car? Do you want to let the world know how frustrated you are driving around in a jalopy that is beyond repair? Honda can help – sort of. For the rest of today, Honda will be tweeting back Vine videos at unhappy drivers who post #WantNewCar on Twitter. The Twitter/Vine combo, developed by the automaker’s longtime agency RPA, is part of Honda’s Summer Clearance Sales Event, and is meant to provide some catharsis to drivers even though there aren’t any discounts or financial incentives for using the hashtag. There probably should be.

If you watch the promo clip above, you’ll see what it looks like when brands use social media for the sake of using social media rather than really committing to interacting with consumers on various social platforms.Take KFC and their annoying, yet memorable, #IAteTheBones campaign. It’s made to go viral and is primarily identifiable to KFC and no other brand. On Twitter, KFC offers followers free merchandise and deals related to the hashtag on a regular basis. Honda is only responding for one day. Even though Honda’s hashtag is much more relatable (one could argue it’s too generic) the execution feels unsure of itself, just like a teenage driver getting behind the wheel for the first time. Credits after the jump.

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Fresh off of retaining creative duties at least for longtime client Honda, (phew), RPA has rolled this out on this, the jokiest, prank-filled of days. The Santa Monica-based agency introduces us to the greatest haircut-on-the-go machine known to man with the HondaHAIR, which comes equipped within the Honda Odyssey Touring Elite. What would an announce like this be without some PR speak, and Honda’s head of said department, named “Parsley Thyme” chimes in saying, ““We recognize that our Odyssey drivers are busier than ever, which is why we’ve packed the car with so many conveniences, including this HondaHAIR forward-thinking technology.” During use, we say just avoid the damn potholes, but we should say the HondaVAC in the 2014 Odyssey is an actual accessory. Credits after the jump.

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