Old Sheep Learn New Tricks in Honda's Amusing Super Bowl Commercial

There's been a somewhat surprising scarcity of animal-themed Super Bowl teasers—and actual spots—this season. (RIP, Budweiser puppy.) But Honda and RPA have rounded up some talented sheep to help change that. The automaker on Monday released its 2016 Super Bowl spot, advertising the 2017 Honda Ridgeline, coming this spring. And one feature of the truck in particular will have prospective buyers—and barnyard animals everywhere—singing its praises. Quite literally. See the spot, directed by Hungry Man's Bryan Buckley, here: Yes, the new Ridgeline, has a truck-bed audio system that uses so-called "exciters" to turn the whole bed into a giant outdoor speaker. Honda is pushing that single feature in the Super Bowl campaign, including the 60-second spot in which sheep belt out Queen's "Somebody to Love," choir style, when the farmer isn't around. "It's a very unique feature," Honda's avp of marketing, Tom Peyton, told Adweek last week in an interview. "Nobody else has it. And it's a little tough to communicate—although we will in some advertising later this spring, when the truck's at the dealers. It's not actually speakers. It's 'exciters' that makes the whole bed a speaker. It's pretty cool. … It would make a great tailgate vehicle." That particular Queen song got a nice revival in December, when Jordan Smith performed it on NBC's The Voice in December. But Peyton also deadpanned: "It was the only song the sheep knew." The humor is broad and cartoony, which Peyton says is just right for the environment. "We aren't the first come out with dogs or horses or puppies [on the Super Bowl]," he says. "But it is the one property where people truly tune in to see the commercials. And this is certainly playing to that type of content they're looking for." Honda has only sat out a couple of Super Bowls over the past decade, and Peyton says it remains a solid investment if you have something special to sell. "You only make the trip to the big game if you have a message that is noteworthy," he says. "And we firmly believe our return to the midsize truck market with a new, restyled Ridgeline is a great opportunity to get that message out. And we certainly think an investment in the Super Bowl is worthwhile." • For more Super Bowl 50 news, check out Adweek's Super Bowl Ad Tracker, an up-to-date list of the brands running Super Bowl spots and the agencies involved in creating them. CREDITS Client: American Honda Motor Co. Title: "A New Truck To Love" Agency: RPA EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli SVP, ECD: Jason Sperling Creative Director/Art: Brent Singer Sr. Art Director: Matthew Pullen Sr. Art Director: Amy Servidea Sr. Copywriter: Chris Bradford Sr. Copywriter: Audrey Attal SVP, Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff VP, Executive Producer: Isadora Chesler Sr. Producer: Eva Ellis VP, Director of Business Affairs: Maria Del Homme EVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender VP, Group Account Director: Adam Blankenship VP, Management Supervisor: Cathy O'Gorman Account Supervisor: Jacob Gentry Account Executive: Chris Varela Account Executive: Christina Contreras SVP, Group Strategic Planning Director: Christian Cocker Associate Director, Strategic Planning: Nargis Pirani Sr. Strategic Planner: Elissa Murch Program Manager: Melissa Heitman Production Company: Hungry Man Director: Bryan Buckley Executive Producer: Mino Jarjoura Director of Photography: Scott Henriksen Producer: Emily Skinner Production Designer: David Skinner Costume Designer: Michelle Martini Editorial: Union Editorial Editor: Jim Haygood Managing Partner: Michael Raimondi Executive Producer: Lisa Johnson Executive Producer: Joe Ross Assistant Editor: Drew Johnson VFX & Design: The Mill Executive Producer: Leighton Greer Sr. Producer: Chris Harlowe Production Coordinator: Mary Hayden & Samantha Hernandez Shoot Supervisor: Robert Sethi, Felix Urquiza & Glyn Tebbutt Executive Creative Director: Phil Crowe Creative Director: Robert Sethi 2D Lead Artist: Glyn Tebbutt 3D Lead Artist: Felix Urquiza Animation Lead Artist: Blake Guest Animation Supervisor: Jacob Bergman 2D Artists: Ben Smith, Ashley Forbito, Jake Albers, Jale Parsons, Peter Sidoriak, Sam Evenson, Tommy Smith 3D Artists: Matthew Fuller, Justin Murphy, Philippe Moine, Matthew Kavanagh, Dave Vander Pol, Richard Bailey, Alice Panek Temp, Tracie Cotta, Jason Jansky, Tamara Garabedian, Jenna Kind, Ziye Liu, Katie Yoon, Anthony Thomas, Majid Esmaeili, Sean Comer, Steven Olson, Martin Rivera Matte Painting: Andy Wheater, Gillian George Color: The Mill Executive Producer, Colour: Thatcher Peterson Colour Producer: Diane Valera Production Coordinator, Colour: Jackson Rodgers Colorist: Adam Scott Music: "Somebody to Love" Written by Freddie Mercury (c) 1976 Queen Music LTD. All Rights controlled by EMI Music Publishing, administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Performed by Queen. Courtesy of Hollywood Records. Re-Record & Sound Design: Beacon Street Studios Executive Producer: Adrea Lavezzoli Mix: Lime Studios Re-recording Mixer: Dave Wagg Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

Brand Marketing

Old Sheep Learn New Tricks in Honda's Amusing Super Bowl Commercial

RPA gives the Ridgeline a woolly rendition of a Queen classic

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd