by Mandy & Jon (@mandyldewaal) The latest US/UK spot for the Honda H-RV, “Stepping”, is a great ad, and very different from the norm.
A quick disclaimer upfront: we drive a Honda. Mandy’s Honda Civic ran past 200 000km before she gave it to her son, and it’s still going strong. We also know of a Ballade that’s on 385 000 and counting. So we have a little bit of an emotional attachment to the brand, but that’s not why we love “Stepping”.
Motor cars have a universal appeal. Despite the dangers, we still race them. Despite the fuel crisis, we still drive for reasons other than simply to get from point A to point B. And, Google be damned, we’re going to drive ourselves where we want to go because… well, perhaps it’s because cars symbolise freedom. After 18 years of being dependent upon our parents or public transport to get places, getting a licence to drive is one of the seminal moments in a teenager’s life.
Car ads often try to feed on the emotional connection we have with our cars and, unfortunately, this all too often focuses upon the ‘machismo’ aspect — the power and speed of the said vehicle. Which, for us, just doesn’t cut it. How many 4x4s do we have to see barrelling down dirt roads and through rivers? How many luxury sedans doing death-defying stunts that burn rubber and unnecessary fuel?
What sort of message is this promoting? That it’s okay to speed and drive recklessly because — hey, we have ABR, VSC, TRC, ACN, FCAT, ISA, VII and a five-star NCAP safety rating— so we’re virtually indestructible?
An alternative route
There are vehicle manufacturers, however, which have taken an alternative route, and Honda is one. Going back into the Honda archive, there are humorous and whimsical ads that do a fine job of selling the brand without kicking up dust or skidding around corners:
There’s a 2008 live TV spot produced in Spain, featuring a team of skydivers spelling out the name — one letter at a time — in under 20 seconds (entitled ‘Difficult is worth doing’).
There’s the 2009 two-minute ad, “The Cog”, featuring a ‘Rube Goldberg’ machine made entirely out of Honda Accord parts.
2010 featured the weird and wacky “Impossible Dream” commercial, which had the payoff line, “What good is dreaming it, if you don’t actually do it?”
Then, a few months ago, the CR-V was publicised with a hypnotic ad called “Endless Road”, which uses some visual trickery to create a looping scenario that illustrates the message, “The road to better never ends”.
The new HR-V
For the new HR-V model, agencies in different countries have taken different approaches. HR-V stands for “High Rider Vehicle”’, although some people refer to it as a “Hybrid Recreational Vehicle” because it has some of the features of an SUV (It’s also called an ‘urban crossover’ — whatever that means).
In South Africa and Australia, a fun, fantastical approach is being used in a TV ad called “Dream Run” down under. It features a fantasy sequence that includes animated eggs, a talking dog, a Dali-esque landscape and roadblocks with giant clocks. [While the TVC was filmed in SA, it’s from Leo Burnett Melbourne and Goodoil Films, with dubbed accents for the Australian market and set to Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”; the SA version has been masterfully edited down from 1.31 and 1:11 to 1:10 and set to Mark Johns and Andy Ward’s “Fantasy” — ed-at-large].
A completely different tack
In the US and UK, the ad agency has taken a completely different tack: “Stepping”, produced by Mcgarrybowen for Honda to market the low-emission model, is fun but in a more ‘Did you see that?’ kind of a way.
Precision-walking, or Shuudan Koudou as it is known in Japan, is a competitive sport in that country, and is the inspiration for this ad. It is reminiscent of the precision-marching one might see at a military tattoo or an elite military school, but it has a style all of its own, and usually some humour thrown in for good measure.
In the ad, the precision of the routine is counterbalanced with some quirky moments. At the beginning, it looks as if the whole team of 112 people tumbles out of the car. They run into position, and everyone is precisely in place, but the camera ‘catches’ one chap adjusting his clothing.
No special effects
There are no special effects when it comes to the precision marching: everything is perfectly choreographed, with the walkers and the car working in harmony. The climax is provided by the participants spelling out “HR-V” by means of opening and closing their jackets to reveal red shirts underneath. As the routine ends, the performers all jump in sequence into the back of the car, and the last one cheekily pulls the door closed.
What binds the ad together is the choice of music, a raggamuffin song called “Incredible” by M-Beat featuring General Levy. If you’re an Ali G fan, you might recognise this as one of the songs from the soundtrack for “Ali G Indahouse”. It has a distinctive syncopated type of beat that works perfectly with the ad, both in action and in mood.
This ad is proof, we believe, that you don’t have to burn gasoline and rubber to get the attention of the car-buying public.
Credits
Brand: Honda
Agency: Mcgarrybowen
Executive creative director: Angus Macadam
Creative team: Paul Jordan, Robin Temple, Tom Woodington
Planner: Ellie Beecroft
Agency producer: Abbi Tarrant
Business director: Alice Tendler
Film production: Somesuch
Director: Kim Gehrig
Executive producer: Tim Nash
Producer: Lee Groombridge
Editor: Tom Lindsay @ Trim
Post production: MPC
Producer: Julie Evans
Supervisor: Bevis Jones
Colourist: Mark Gethin
Audio production: Factory & Soundtree
Music: Incredible by M-Beat featuring General Levy
Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar are writers, and are the co-founders of Jo!Ma Media — a company that creates kief content.
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