Facebook Pixel Code

Driving Lessons

The strong positive emotions that the new Honda City ad evokes leaves the viewer with a nice feeling in these cynical times

Campaign: A Greater Drive

Brand:Honda City

Company : Honda Cars India Ltd

Agency: Dentsu Marcom

The Campaign

The film opens with a golfer and his caddy coming out of the golf course. He notices that the caddy?s three school going children have bunked school and are playing with a toy car. The golfer then asks the caddy why his children haven’t gone to school, to which the caddy answers that he has told them innumerable times in vain, and requests the golfer to speak to them. The golfer comes near the children and picks up the toy car. He then points his car key at the toy car and suddenly there?s a sound.

The three children look at each other in sheer amazement. The golfer then moves the toy car aside to show his all-new Honda City parked at the back. It was actually the Honda City which responded to his auto key and the excited children follow him into the car. The girl sits in the front seat while the two boys get into the back seat. The golfer shows the girl how to wear the seat belt and then with the One Push Engine Start/Stop button he zooms off. The children are wide-eyed as they excitedly explore the various features of the car. The golfer switches on the AC from the interactive screen and as the cool air ruffles the hair of the children at the back, they smile in glee. Finally they arrive at the gates of the children’s school. The golfer then says, ?If you don?t study, then you?ll keep playing with such cars (pointing to the toy car). But if you study, one day, you may own such a car. (pointing to the Honda City).? Finally, the kids get down and the golfer drives off..

Our Take

Remember the time when you went car shopping and oohed and aahed over the various features of the model you drooled over. The sense of achievement that you can finally call this dream machine your own. The heady feeling when you took it out for a test drive. This ad reminds you of those feelings. The gleam in the children’s eyes, the palpable excitement in their voices, and even the understated pride in the car-owner’s eyes as he sees the children’s reaction takes you back to that moment. Purchasing a car isn’t just about fuel efficiency, price and engine that car buffs may try to convince you. It’s also about how you identify with your car, and what it says about you, and this ad of Honda City is able to capture that. The ad is strikingly simple, not too many layers, but perhaps it is this simplicity of purpose and clarity in execution that makes it appealing and honest. The golfer’s charm and easy-going manner and his non-pretentious approach as he talks to ‘lesser mortals’ (remember, golf is not an ordinary man’s game) and takes the kids on a joyride makes the ad believable. The advice that one day these kids can be on the driving seat (of a Honda City) with the right education flows naturally and does not seem grandoise. Coming to the concept behind this ad, the advertising brief was how to make an already great car greater in the minds of consumers. To what extent that target has been achieved may be debatable, but the strong positive emotions that this ad evokes, reinforced by the social message that even the caddy’s kids can aspire and fulfill their dreams, leaves the viewer with a nice feeling in these cynical times. As for the music, it is an extremely hummable piece.

Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes, and the latest India News and business news on Financial Express. Download the Financial Express App for the latest finance news.

First published on: 28-01-2014 at 05:26 IST
Market Data
Market Data
Today’s Most Popular Stories ×