For this year’s Honda Spring Sales Event campaign, the automaker has brought back the Dream Garage campaign to demonstrate that now is the time to get that great deal on your new Honda vehicle. Accompanying this year’s campaign is a new social component that stars a rowdy baby bear, and shows what happens in the Honda Dream Garage after hours/
On social, Honda is leveraging the CG world that was created for the campaign’s TV spots by showcasing the Accord through the eyes of a brand-new character, a rambunctious bear cub.
The social video begins after the lights go out in the Dream Garage for the night. In mock security footage, the viewer sees a baby bear wander in after hours, causing a ruckus with the vehicles. In one scene, the bear cub is rocking out to music in the Accord until a security guard comes by. In another, the bear cub finds gifts in the trunk and proceeds to open them and play with the boxes. The new video, created to raise awareness of the Honda Spring Sales Event in a fun and lighthearted way, will run on Honda’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.
Ernie Kelsey, Senior Manager of Regional, Social and Experiential Marketing at Honda talked to DIVERGE about the campaign.
Who is the team behind this campaign from?
Where did the idea for this campaign come from?
To avoid the noise around spring sales events, Honda created something more aspirational: The Honda Dream Garage – full of every Honda innovation. Honda has the greatest breadth of products of any carmaker in America, so we thought – why not leverage that by creating the most impossible garage in the world? This is the third iteration of the campaign called “The Dream Garage Sales Event” and it features an epic garage full of every amazing product you can imagine. It speaks to Honda making every mobility dream a possibility – from race cars to road trips with the kids.
What is the message you want to get across?
It’s spring, which means families are planning road trips and doing their home improvement projects, not to mention cleaning out their garages. We wanted to tap into that in a way that’s fun and aspirational – so we brought to life an actual dream garage, full of brand-new Hondas – ready to hit the open road. Honda has a wide range of vehicles and products that fit every lifestyle, and we wanted to tell shoppers that now’s the time to get that new Honda you’ve been dreaming of.
When and where will the tv spots air?
The spots have been airing nationally (network, cable, etc.) since 3/13 and will conclude airing on TV through 4/30.
Was diversity a priority when shooting these ads?
Diversity is always of the utmost importance in our casting and the stories we tell.
Why bears?
The mobile audience is highly selective about content, so we had to create something fun and lighthearted for our social extensions. We felt that an adorable baby bear who has wandered into the Dream Garage was the perfect answer. This was our way of leveraging the cars and the CGI environment to have some fun with our audience. Who doesn’t love a baby bear in a new Honda Accord?
What role does humor play in these spots?
Humor is a way to make audiences happy, and that’s always our goal. In this campaign we used light humor as a way to bring to life the real benefits of Honda products and truths of our drivers. For example, we all over-pack for camping trips and we all hate being stuck in traffic – so we decided to show drivers a playful solution.
