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.

(more…)

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Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Psyop Explore the Mystery of Energy

Origin “The Unknown” from Psyop on Vimeo.

Psyop and Clemenger BBDO Melbourne bring us this whimsical spot, offering up a childlike take on how electricity is made.

As Psyop Director Fletcher Moules puts it, they wanted to express “that feeling that something magical is hidden around every corner,”…or behind every socket. The spot uses whimsical imagery such as a monkey riding a bicycle that spins a turbine and fighting magnets to effectively communicate that most people really don’t know all that much more about energy use now than they did when they were children imagining such fantastical scenarios. Timing is key here: Just when you might be wondering “Okay, where exactly is this going?” comes the “It’s time to take the mystery out of energy” tag. The spot then ends by directing you to discover five ways to control your energy at originenergy.com.au. It’s refreshing to see an ad utilizing seeming randomness to deliver its message, as opposed to the myriad of ads whose message is obscured by attempts at random humor.  continued…

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