Honda Creates Original Short-Film Documentaries for Corporate Brand Campaign

One Film in the Cinematic Series by an Acclaimed Director to be Screened at Sundance Film Festival

January 12, 2009, U.S.A.

Corporate

SANTA MONICA, Calif, U.S.A., January 12, 2009– A US-national campaign that builds on Honda's corporate theme, "Power of Dreams," begins on Monday, Jan. 12 at http://dreams.honda.com. The strategy developed by Honda's long-standing advertising agency of record, RPA, is designed to speak to the hearts and minds of consumers by intimately revealing the essence of Honda's corporate philosophy via a multimedia, interactive campaign centered on a highly immersive Web site.

Honda Presents DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE Documentary Series

Honda Presents DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE Documentary Series

"The new Power of Dreams campaign features documentary footage of real people sharing real stories about Honda's approach to developing solutions to everyday business challenges. These unscripted, emotionally driven films highlight Honda's associates' personal episodes of pursuing 'impossible dreams,' which, in reality, are life lessons for all of us," said Barbara Ponce, manager of corporate advertising, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The completely redesigned Web site destination, http://dreams.honda.com, showcases Honda's "DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE Documentary Series" by acclaimed director Derek Cianfrance and award-winning producers @radical.media. The Web site features cinematic, full-screen viewing of the films in a clean, uncluttered environment. Users can share and rate the films and subscribe to the Web site.

Three short documentary films (about 6- 8 minutes in length) will debut at campaign launch; additional films will be added every few months. Two of the films discuss core values that have inspired generations of Honda associates by telling the stories of impossible engineering challenges and exploring where failure brought Honda and what success came of it. The third film explores the future of mobility.

"Kick Out the Ladder" explores the Honda idea of being led up to the roof and kicking out the ladder as a metaphor for being challenged to achieve seemingly impossible goals with stories and anecdotes from Honda associates. The philosophy is used as an "impossible engineering" platform focusing on the story of the new Insight, safety, innovation and U.S. manufacturing with footage of Honda's newest auto manufacturing plant in Greensburg, Ind.

"Failure: The Secret to Success" depicts Honda's belief in the importance of never being afraid to try something new. Through personal experiences of Honda associates and those affiliated with Honda, such as IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, the film explores failures and risks taken that helped lead to new innovations.

"Mobility 2088" centers on the future of mobility as told by a collection of academics, scientists, sci-fi writers and artists, including film director Christopher Guest. The film asks, "how will people get from point A to point B in 80 years?"

"Ultimately, we hope these films will intrigue and inspire people by giving them a look into Honda's unique philosophy- that impossible dreams can be realized through determination, creativity and hard work," said Todd Carey, associate creative director at RPA.

The collection of films features dozens of interviews including Takeo Fukui, president and CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and other Honda executives, engineers, and associates.

The campaign targets 25-to-49-year-old adults with a youthful spirit, who are comfortable with technology, who value authenticity, and who are drawn to brands they can relate to, connect with, or admire.

To further connect with independent, entrepreneurial consumers, "Mobility 2088" will air at an exclusive screening before the highly anticipated "Mary and Max" at the Sundance Film Festival. Honda is the exclusive automotive sponsor of the Festival. In addition, ad units will run in-theater at independent theaters nationwide during February and March.

Online media will generate awareness for the campaign, drive traffic to http://dreams.honda.com and will aid in creating buzz among consumers. Spots (:30 and :15 spots utilizing footage from the films) will run on full episode players including ABC.com, CBS.com, NBC.com and Hulu. Online media also features high impact units and sponsorships, such as unique page takeovers, roadblocks and pre-roll placements, on relevant Web sites that appeal to the target: technology, news and social media. Executions will launch late January through early February on Wired, Gawker Network, Discovery Channel, Time, Yahoo! and CNN.


Photo Gallery

A scene from "Kick Out the Ladder", a short film in Honda's DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE Documentary Series.
A title card from the opening sequence of the DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE Documentary Series, presented by Honda.
In "Failure: The Secret to Success", IndyCar¨ Driver Danica Patrick recounts her first crash in an IndyCar race - and the lessons learned from the experience.