We are several days away from the Super Bowl LI, and Honda is just one of the many carmakers that will advertise its product during this spectacle. This weekend, Honda will present an all-star advertisement that encourages people to pursue their dreams.
In the commercial, we will be able to see the high school yearbook photos of some of the celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel, Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Missy Elliott. We will also have a chance to see young “Magic” Johnson, Robert Redford, Viola Davis, Amy Adams and Stan Lee.
Honda used visual effects in order to bring this yearbook photos to life, and each of these celebrities talks about what it means to be successful. Furthermore, they mention the challenges and the obstacles they had to overcome to reach their goals and get what they have now and also the ambition required for the success. Ad agency RPA created this ad that lasts 60 seconds, and its main objective is to promote new Honda CR-V model.
In her conversation with Business Insider, Susie Rossick, who is the Honda Auto marketing assistant vice president said that the idea of this commercial was to present the brand’s wider message.
The commercial was named “Power of Dreams” and for Business Insider, Rossick stated: “The whole idea behind ‘Power of Dreams’ is embedded in us from our founder Soichiro Honda. He came across a lot of obstacles in building and making Honda successful. Everyone told him: ‘You will never be able to do this,’ but he never let anybody tell him ‘no’. The ‘Power of Dreams’ is something we try to live every day. Honda has had its challenges over the years but we have kept this spirit of never giving up on your dreams, always.”
This ad is important to Honda because Sunday’s Super Bowl marks 20 years since this Japanese manufacturer introduced the original CR-V for the first time. This will be the second year in a row to see Honda’s vehicle advertised during such a significant event.
Last year, they promoted the Ridgeline truck, and this was a memorable commercial since it was considered one of the funniest Super Bowl car ads of all time, which is no wonder considering that it featured a choir of sheep singing Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” You can see this commercial here, along with the other most funniest Super Bowl car ads.
According to Rossick, the ad caused 120,000 ‘handraisers’, which in the language of Honda means those people who immediately wanted to get to know more about the certain vehicle as well as the information when it would be available for purchase. The company is currently on a mission to discover how many of those ‘handraisers’ actually bought a Ridgeline.
However, the 30-second-lasting commercial costs a lot of money during the Super Bowl, and broadcaster Fox asks for upwards of $5 million this year. Will Honda manage to be in profit when it is all taken into consideration?
Rossick said: “I’m not at liberty to disclose how much we paid. Do I think it’s worth it? Of course, there’s always the feeling when something isn’t worth getting involved with, but we still value this as a great platform to introduce a vehicle. 110 million people [watch the Super Bowl on TV] and nobody turns away when the commercials run. They watch, they engage, and it’s a great opportunity to introduce our CR-V. I still strongly feel it provides a great return.”
In addition, Honda also launched a social media campaign on Thursday, which many people celebrate as “Throwback Thursday” on social media. This campaign calls for other celebrities to share their old high school yearbook photos and some of the thing they had to deal with in their teenage years. Expect to hear some great stories and funny-looking youngsters, whom you might not recognize.
