Ad of the Day: Honda Puts Its History on Paper in This Amazing 2-Minute PES Animation

Those who were disappointed that animator PES wasn't hired for this Ikea spot will rejoice today upon seeing the Oscar nominee's latest brand work—a remarkable two-minute Honda spot from RPA that tells Honda's entire history though an intricate paper-flipping journey. The spot, titled "Paper," which took months to make, broke Sunday during CBS's NFL games. It features thousands of hand-drawn illustrations from various artists—filmed by stop-motion wizard PES—that show Honda's mobility products through the years. It opens with founder Soichiro Honda's use of a radio generator to power his wife's bicycle, and continues through the company's development of motorcycles, outboard motors, CVCC vehicles, automobiles, race cars, robotics and more. The film, while devised in CGI, was shot practically, with a few scenes stitched together. Honda has told its history many times before—notably in spots out of Wieden + Kennedy London like 2013's "Hands" and, going back a decade, "Impossible Dream." Much like the "Hands" spot, "Paper" aims to embody—rather than just tell—the Honda brand promise, by being as impeccably engineered as the products themselves. "The goal is for the marketing itself to become a demonstration of Honda thinking and all the people that touch our wide range of products along the way," said Tom Peyton, assistant vice president of marketing for American Honda Motor Co. "This commercial stands for the courage and conviction to imagine and make dreams a reality and speaks to Honda's innovative nature and respect for personal achievement and contributions." Conceptually, "Paper" is about as stripped down as you can get—every complex vehicle, after all, starts with a few sketches on paper. And the details pay off the lofty concept, as we move from the sepia-toned early scenes to modern graph paper by the end. The tagline is, ""You never know where a dream will lead you." The spot will get further full two-minute airings on network shows including Dancing with the Stars, Rosewood, Minority Report and Blue Bloods, and on ESPN next weekend during Saturday College Football. A 60-second version will air throughout October on NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC. It's also on Facebook and YouTube. Check out the behind-the-scenes video below, including commentary from PES himself. CREDITS Client: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Title: "Paper" :117 First Air: 9/20/15 —TV Agency: RPA EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli SVP, ECD: Jason Sperling VP, CD/Art Director: Chuck Blackwell VP, CD/Copywriter: Ken Pappanduros Senior Copywriter: Chris Bradford Art Director: Laura Crigler Copywriter: Josh Hepburn SVP, Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff VP, Executive Producer: Isadora Chesler Producer: Matt Magsaysay SVP, Group Strategic Planning Director: Christian Cocker VP, Director of Business Affairs: Maria Del Homme EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender VP, Group Account Directors: Adam Blankenship & Jeff Moohr Management Supervisor: Rose McRitchie Account Executives: Susan Kim & Paul Sulzer Product Information Manager: Marco Fantone Production Company: Reset Content Director: PES Managing Director: Dave Morrison Executive Producers: Jen Beitler & Jeff McDougall Head of Production: Amanda Clune Producer: Stan Sawicki DP: Eric Adkins Production Supervisor: Mario D'Amici Production Designer: John Joyce Motion Control Operator: Mark Eifert Motion Control Assistant: Calvin Frederick Animation Supervisor: Eileen Kohlhepp Animators: Amy Adamy, Sihanouk Mariona, David Braun, Julian Petschek, Javan Ivey, Jen Prokopowicz, Brandon Lake, Ranko Tadic & Quique Rivera Illustrators: Jerrod McIlvain, Nicole Cardiff, Vincent Lucido, Arwen King, Meghan Boehman, Monica Magana, Kei Chong, Trevor Brown & Alex Theodoropulos Set Dresser/Painter: Veronica Hwang Illustration Coordinator: Evan Koehne Art Department: Nate Theis, Ellen Ridgeway, Melissa Quezada Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors Editor: Stewart Reeves EP: Angela Dorian Producer: Leah Carnahan-Dogruer Assistant Editor: Jasmina Zaharieva VFX & Finishing: A52 VFX Supervisor & Lead Flame: Andy Rafael Barrios CG Supervisor: Kirk Shintani EP: Patrick Nugent Producer: Lusia Boryczko Head of Production: Kim Christensen Executive Producer: Patrick Nugent 2D VFX Artists: Michael Plescia, Enid Dalkoff, Chris Moore, Cam Coombs, Michael Vagilenty CG Artists: Aaron Baker, Mike Bettinardi, Michael Cardenas, Jon Belcome, Joe Chiechi Pre-Viz: Ranko Tadic, Ingolfur Guomundsson, Benito Vargas Colorist: Tommy Hooper Online Editor: Dan Ellis Color/Online Assist: Gabe Sanchez, Chris Riley, Erik Rojas Roto Artists: Cathy Shaw, Robert Shaw, Tiffany Germann Sound Design: Factory UK – Sound Design Studios Sound Designer: Phil Bolland Head of Production: Lou Allen Mix: Lime Studios Re-Recording Mixer: Dave Wagg Assistant Re-Recording Mixer: Adam Primack Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan —Social VP, Creative Social Media Director: J Barbush VP, CD/Art Director: Chuck Blackwell VP, CD/Copywriter: Ken Pappanduros Senior Copywriter: Chris Bradford Art Director: Laura Crigler Copywriter: Josh Hepburn Producer: Matt Magsaysay Editor: A'sia Horne-Smith EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender VP, Group Account Director: Adam Blankenship Account Supervisor: Renee Egizi-Finger Account Executive: Kaelin McGill VP, Associate Director, Digital Marketing: Aaron Dodez Supervisor, Digital Content Strategy: Mike Dossett Sr. Specialists, Digital Content Strategy: Tyler Sweeney & Hartman Wong Associate Digital Producer: Connor Gomez Program Manager: Melissa Heitman —Behind The Scenes Senior Copywriter: Chris Bradford Art Director: Laura Crigler Copywriter: Josh Hepburn Producer: Matt Magsaysay Associate Digital Producer: Connor Gomez VP, Group Account Director: Adam Blankenship Management Supervisor: Rose McRitchie Account Executive: Susan Kim Post Production: Bo's House of Visual Arts @ RPA Post Producer: Eddie Granado Editor: Wendy Sandoval Lead Cameraman: Zach Grant Cameraman/pick up shots: Mark Tripp Graphics: Michael Kelley Color: Augie Arredondo Final Mix/Audio: Lime Studios Mixer: Mark Meyuhas —Interactive Video Technology: WIREWAX Business Development & Creative Services: Bea DiCarlo EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli SVP, ECD: Jason Sperling VP, Digital Design Director: Michael Takeshita VP, CD/Art Director: Chuck Blackwell VP, CD/Copywriter: Ken Pappanduros Art Director: Jesse Echon Copywriter: Michael Chen VP, Director of Digital Production: Dave Brezinski Executive Digital Producer: Linda Kim Associate Digital Producer: Connor Gomez EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender VP, Group Account Director: Adam Blankenship Management Supervisor: Rose McRitchie Account Executive: Susan Kim Program Manager: Melissa Heitman

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Ad of the Day: Honda Puts Its History on Paper in This Amazing 2-Minute PES Animation

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