Search results matching tag 'honda'

Honda gets informal with the ASA

2114008 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:33:00 GMT

Honda, which has built its reputation on its green credentials, would appear to have an extremely good relationship with the Advertising Standards Authority.

A recent complaint made to everyone's favourite watchdog about a press ad for Honda's CR-V 4x4 has been 'informally resolved'.

The ad stated, '...the CR-V is fuel efficient and it also has low emissions,' when in fact the car's 173g CO2/km is 13g over the European average. Honda agreed to change the ad and avoided the shame of a public roasting.

Meanwhile the likes of Lexus have been hauled over the coals through the formal route.

What's the criteria for these decisions? I'd love to know...

For DM agencies with the Ford, Peugeot, Nissan and Vauxhall accounts - good news at last

685292 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:24:00 GMT

Once upon a time, having a car account was a badge of merit amongst agencies. Not so recently, as that sector hit the credit crunch doldrums. Car sales fell by almost a third in March this year compared with last year.

But you can bet every agency in the land with automotive business will be burning the midnight oil in the run up to Wednesday's budget, preparing DM that capitalises on the much-anticipated 'scrappage' or 'cash for bangers' incentive to buy a new car.

Assuming this measure actually materializes.

But Treasury briefings to media organisations suggest that it will.

The idea is that buyers will be entitled to a £2,000 discount on a new car if they scrap their old (nine or ten years old, at least) one.

The scheme, billed as an environmental measure because new cars are more fuel-efficient, is intended to throw a lifeline to Britain's ailing motor industry. But it's also a fillip for DM agencies.

Let's remind ourselves of which agency has what account:
Wunderman – Jaguar, Land Rover and Ford
Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw – Lexus and Toyota
Publicis Dialog – Renault
DraftFCB – Vauxhall
CMW – Peugeot
TMW – Nissan Europe
LIDA – Mini
Hicklin Slade & Partners – Honda
Partners Andrews Aldridge – Rolls Royce

Other than Rolls Royce and vintage car owners, many proprietors of older cars are likely to be lured by such an incentive.

I hear of digital Flash ads being feverishly prepared by agencies for their car clients, ready for updating at a moment's notice if Chancellor Alastair Darling announces the measure, sometime between 12.30 and 2pm next Wednesday.

That immediacy is the beauty of digital. Let's face it: such direct responsiveness would have been hard with direct mail.

Goodbye Bush......by Veet

812253 — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:20:00 GMT

Every now and then the role for good old fashioned advertising is reaffirmed - either by inspirational creative (Honda's impossible dream or Cadbury's Gorilla) tapping into a zeitgeist (see the new Virgin Atlantic ads) or fantastic media placement which I think the Veet ad placed in the Sydney Herald last week achieved perfectly - Nuff said !

2009 Predictions for Video

1363416 — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:41:00 GMT

Today is my first day back in the office after a long break in SE Asia and having returned to a country steeped in doom and gloom I decided to ruminate on what the positives might be for video production in 2009. Here are a couple of my predictions:

1. DOOH (digital out of home) will get a real boost. With advertising budgets being cut, this often sidelined media may come into its own. Production and media costs are lower than TV and it is a space that, in my opinion, has been starved of good creative application because the best creatives have been focused elsewhere. With money being diverted away from TVC's and business slower, perhaps DOOH will get more creative attention. It's also still quite a fresh new media that consumers have yet to tire of so here's an opportunity to make an impact.

2. We will see an increase in the trend of "viral" style ads like the Liverpool Street Station T-Mobile Dance that has been able to extend its exposure far beyond its original TV audience with a large on-line following. Similar to the Honda Sky Dive ad, you only need to show it once on TV (and build up buzz about the screening of it) and then use the cheaper media of the internet do the rest. Next to come is the follow up to the Gorilla ad from Cadbury's ....

Honda's cross-dressing fans

2228399 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:01:00 GMT

Whilst doing some buzz tracking around Honda's Live Ad, we came across this v.interesting snippet of chatter in the UK's leading cross-dressing community "Crossdresserclub.com".

We're always preaching about using virals to target niche interest groups, however I'm not sure cross-dressers were part of Honda's media plan - or maybe they were?