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 Taps Michael Bolton as ‘Talent’ for ‘Happy Honda Days’

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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Honda Test-Drives Social Media Sharing with #WantNewCar

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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