How do you create “lower funnel” campaigns that sell and communicate urgency, but do it in a way that breaks through the automotive retail clutter, slakes the thirst of thousands of car dealers and doesn’t erode the brand? It isn’t easy, but when you’re able to break the mold so to speak, sales campaigns can be some of the most rewarding work…and do the most to solidify your role as trusted business partner.
Happy Honda Days “Toys” Campaign
For our Happy Honda Days Sales Campaign, we used some of the most iconic childhood toys to remind people of the joy they felt as a child getting that thing they really wanted for the holidays — and to let them know they can experience that same joy again with a new Honda during Happy Honda Days.
Then on Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, Skeletor "hacked" Honda's Twitter page. Some thought it was real, some brands even played along. It received a ton of press from publications like Adweek, The Drum, Digital Spy, Fox Sports and Creativity to name a few. And Tech Times called it “The Best Marketing Campaign Ever.”
Awards: Effie Finalist // ADDY “Best of Show” (Happy Honda Days Campaign) // Gold ADDY “Best Integrated Campaign” // Gold ADDY “Best Social Media Campaign” // Silver ADDY “Branded Entertainment”
Toys campaign case study
The broadcast and pre-roll campaign featuring classic toys from several generations, who reminded people about the excitement they felt as a kid when they got a holiday gift they loved. Year one featured folks like Gumby and Pokey, Jem and GI Joe, Strawberry Shortcake, Fisher Price Little People, and of course, you-know-who.
“Stretch Armstrong” :30
“Gumby and Pokey” :30
How does one become master of the universe in the modern age? By taking over Twitter, of course! On Cyber Monday, Skeletor took over Honda’s account and posted nearly 100 tweets in under 8 hours. Here's what the low-grade cartoon villainy looked like in 140 characters or less.
And to think a retail sales event could get this level of attention.
Honda “Good Reasons” Sales Event
Car shopping sucks. The Good Reasons campaign cut through automotive retail BS and cliche clutter like a hot knife through butter. Patrick Warburton starred in this brutally honest and funny 360-campaign that humorously mocks the world of auto advertising, all while dropping knowledge and taking car research to the next level with the award-winning Good Reasons website.
Awards: Communication Arts: Interactive Annual 2012 // Communication Arts Webpick // Think LA Interactive Awards: Digital Campaign of The Year // Webby Awards Nominee: Best Copywriting & Best Online Campaign // LA Addy Awards: Best of Show, 4 Golds, 5 Silvers // IAA Awards: Complete Campaign Silver, Microsite Bronze
Good Reasons campaign case study
“One of the best integrated advertising/marketing campaigns I’ve seen. The actor is key but the context and in-page concepts are brilliant.”
The Good Reasons Website
The campaign centered on the Good Reasons website. On this site our host, Patrick Warburton, commandeered users’ web browsers and whisked them away on guided Honda research tours, across the vast (and sometimes odd) expanse of the Internet. He used everything from KellyBlueBook.com to monkey-tickling YouTube videos in order to convey some rock solid reasoning about Hondas. After all, you can’t argue with the Internet.
The highly engaging videos explained the many reasons to get to Honda. And made you laugh. A lot.
“Fuel Efficiency”
“Competitive”
“Safety”
“Quality/Value”
The suave soothsaying also took place in broadcast and pre-roll, where we started by saying “see ya” to a ho-hum Honda Sales Event staple for years, Mr. Opportunity.
“A Man” :60
“Disclaimers” :60
Summer Clearance “#hatemycar” Campaign, Year One
When this campaign ran in 2013, retail advertising was still primarily traditional ideas in traditional channels. We wanted to change that and stand out from the herd. For year one of our Summer Clearance #hatemycar campaign we took to Vine, where we responded to tweets in real time with live, personalized reply videos, much to the delight of online audiences. As a result we tripled Twitter's engagement rate, received almost 15 million impressions, and made headlines. Not bad for a sales event.
Awards: Named an AdWeek Finalist for the Year's Best Brands on Social Media
#hatemycar case study
The following were a few examples of the broadcast and pre-roll spots.
“#stupidcar” :30
“#moneyprobzzz” :30
Summer Clearance “#hatemycar” Campaign, Year Two
For year two of the campaign we continued the same theme in broadcast. However, for one week during the event we ran the “Summer Cheerance Event”. Our goal - provide cheer to as many people as possible for 5 days straight. We shared happiness-inspiring videos, one which featured YouTube megastar Andrew Hales dancing with strangers on the street. The campaign also includes a branded Pandora station filled with stand-up comedy in place of commercials. An ambient component brought real-life surprises to the everyman, like piñatas popping up in expected locations and buried treasure on beaches. And the cherry on top - once the #Cheerance campaign reached more than three million people, Honda donated $100,000 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Cheerance case study
“Now is the Moment” Sales Event
We combined beautiful cars with iconic songs to speak to that ‘love at first sight moment’, when everything in the room disappears and it’s just you and the car.
“Take My Breath Away” :30
“Crazy in Love” :30
And to reach a younger audience, we created another video for social media, where we switched out lovestruck humans with smitten kittens. The video received 2.2 million videos in just the first two days.
“Meow is the Moment” case study