RPA and Honda Fall in Love for the Summer

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.

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…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

RPA Issues ‘Slow Citations’ for Honda

To generate excitement for Honda’s upcoming “Fastest Seat in Sports” sweepstakes offering entrants a chance to ride along with Mario Andretti, RPA Andretti went around annoying people going about their everyday business with “slow citations” for doing things too slowly.

RPA and Honda just released footage of the stunt (featured above), which follows the “Honda Speed Control” as they issue these citations to unsuspecting civilians. Three additional “slow citation” videos will be released preceding the end of the sweepstakes on August 6th. Additionally, RPA will be issuing “slow citations” to unsuspecting brands or products that are too slow on Twitter.

“Honda is leveraging one of the most exciting opportunities in all of sports fandom—the opportunity to win a ride in the Honda two-seat Indy Car driven by Andretti—to broaden awareness of this incredible sweepstakes,” said Susie Rossick, senior manager at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “This humorous video and social effort give us the opportunity to bring attention to Honda’s racing spirit and the advanced technology and performance found in all of our Honda vehicles.”

Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.