RPA extends the “Happy Honda Days” campaign into the 2015 holidays this week with a new series of spots built on a combination of live action footage, miniature sets and matte paintings.
The work looks to tie the car brand to the various ways we experience the holidays, and the first spot “Party” combines the elements mentioned above to create a fantastical vision of a certain American lifestyle complete with Golden Retriever, adorable corner coffee shop and front lawn dance party.
We see the shiny new Accord…but what’s in the box?!
“Family” opens another door, this one featuring vignettes that could only happen with some assistance from a Honda automobile. There’s the family photo session in front of a sedan, the dad who drove all the way to the rink to score his daughter’s figure skating skills and the couple who bought the car before the ring. (Just to be safe.)
“Skier” is a study in contrasts between the snow-covered mountains and the arid desert. The man ski-jumping his way out of the box and the wilderness fish tank make for nice touches, though the connection between the two scenes isn’t quite clear.
With “Kids,” the campaign comes to its natural conclusion: parenthood and SUV cleaning duties.
That went well thanks to some help from our all-knowing, omnipresent Man Outside the Box.
The point is that the Happy Honda Days Sales Event is going on at your local Honda dealer today–and a new car would be that rare gift that everyone in the family will use in some capacity.
The campaign seeks to “[break] through the seasonal advertising clutter” and drive interest in the new Honda models…and the interaction between the life-size and miniature elements is seamless, even if the spots don’t quite cohere into a single narrative.
The ads will air in coming weeks during prime-time network dramas, cable shows and sporting events.
Agency:
RPA
EVP, Chief Creative Officer: Joe Baratelli
SVP, Executive Creative Director: Jason Sperling
VP, Creative Director: Alicia Dotter Marder
Associate Creative Director: Jeni Stewart
Senior Art Director: Leo Borges
Sr. Copywriter: Peter Megler
Jr. Art Director: Dennis Haynes
Jr. Copywriter: Megan Lienfelder
Jr. Copywriter: David Bassine
SVP, Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff
VP, Executive Producer: Isadora Chesler
Senior Producer: Fran Wall
Broadcast Production Coordinator: Jeanette Howes
EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender
SVP, Group Account Director, HRM: Fern McCaffrey
Account Supervisor: Alison Bickel
Account Executive: Matthew Boyer
Account Assistant: Kendall Rouse
Production Company/Effects: Brand New School
Director: Ben Go
Managing Partner: Devin Brook
Executive Producer: Paul Abatemarco
Head of Production: Amy Russo
Line Producer: David Wolfson
Director of Photography: Shawn Kim
VFX Supervisor & 2D Lead: Todd Mesher
CG Supervisor: Bryant Rief
Post Producers: Sabrina Elizondo, Alex More
Matte Painter: George Fuentes
Designers: YoonSun Lee, Ben Yonda, Brandon Lee Smith, Ken Gun Lee, Matt Hollister
Asst. Editor: Austin Lewis
3D Artists: Slavik, Amy Vatanakul, Matt Bauer, Sam Baese, Ian Mankowski, Cameron Walser
Flame Artist: Elad Offer
Nuke Artists: Josh Studebaker, Lori Weiss
Compositors: Maithy Tran, Laury Santoso, Ben Hurand
Storyboard Artist: Judah Dobin
Editors: Erik Barnes, Mark Imgrund
Colorist: Loren White
Music:
South Music and Sound
Audio Post: Lime
Mixer: Dave Wagg
Assistant Mixer: Adam Primack
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan