RPA and Honda Help a Former Kid Come to Terms With Adulthood

By Patrick Coffee 

Honda has a new Accord model, and it’s not quite the suburban sedan you think you know.

In fact, the remade or “restyled” mid-sizer is sleek enough to remind one man of his childhood dreams of being a race car driver. To promote the model, RPA has created a new ad titled “Dreams,” which will debut during this Saturday’s college football game on ESPN.

It’s really a portrait of one man’s fantasy life in miniature.

The narrative here is compelling, and we like the quick shift from young, excitable, energetic kid to burned-out guy in his late 30s who obviously takes little pleasure in his day-to-day. The gentle Ben Folds piano track doesn’t hurt, either.

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The idea that a mid-sized sedan can rekindle the joys of childhood would be a bit of a stretch, but this campaign isn’t really arguing that an Accord can somehow stand in as the grown-up equivalent of a race car. As each successive shot tells us, it’s really all about having a decent imagination even as you sink into the inevitable, disappointing daily grind that is adulthood.

It also kind of reminds us of the opening scenes from The Incredibles, or history’s most depressing movie about aging. We do feel bad for this guy’s kids, though.

Credits

Client:  American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Agency:  RPA
EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli
SVP, ECD: Jason Sperling
Senior Art Director: Amy Servidea
Senior Copywriter: Chris Bradford
Art Director: Hans Seeger
Copywriter: David Kennedy
SVP, Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff
VP, Executive Producer: Isadora Chesler
Producer: Joshua Herbstman
Production Coordinator: Jeanette Howes
VP, Director of Business Affairs: Maria Del Homme
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Marlys Pulos

EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender
SVP, Group Account Director, Honda Regional Marketing: Fern McCaffrey
VP, Management Supervisor: Cathy O’Gorman
Account Supervisor: Jacob Gentry
Account Supervisor: Eliza Wan
Account Executive: Chloe Seitz

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Director: Michael Spiccia
Executive Producer: Marc Marrie
Managing Director: Mal Ward
Head of Production: Christa Skotland
Line Producer: Ben Scandrett-Smith
Line Producer: Kristin Porter
Director of Photography: Danny Ruhlmann

Post Production Editorial:  Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Gabriel Britz
Assistant Editors: Cudjo Collins and Jaime Serna
EP: Angela Dorian
Producer: Dina Ciccotello

Post Production VFX: A52
Visual Effects Supervisor: Andy McKenna
CG Supervisor: Adam Newman
2D VFX Artists: Matt Sousa, Chris Moore, Michael Plescia
Finishing: Gabe Sanchez, Kevin Stokes
3D Artists: Pete Coggeshall, Mike Bettinardi, Thomas Kernan, Abel Salazar, Aaron Baker, Adam Carter, Nathaniel Morgan, Marko Mandaric, Tim Kadowaki, Joe Paniagua, Wendy Kline
Designer: Krystal Sojo
Producer: Stacy Kessler-Aungst
Head of Production: Kim Christensen
Executive Producer: Patrick Nugent

Music  Supervision & Sound Design: Squeak E. Clean

Music by Artist Ben Folds
Track- Before Cologne
Mix: Lime Studios
Mixer: Dave Wagg
Assistant Mixer: Adam Primack
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Tylie Jones: Contacts: Lee Anne Frazier & Veronica Strong
Car Prep – LA Prep Inc: Lorene Miyake & Adam Hale

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