The new television spot marks the brand’s first official Super Bowl commercial since 2014 and Super Bowl 48’s Hugfest
Honda has rolled out a preview of the brand’s Super Bowl 50 commercial spotlighting the 2017 Honda Ridgeline pickup. It features a herding dog and flock of sheep singing the Queen classic, Somebody to Love. While the 60-second spot is slated to air on 7 February 2016, it is available for viewing via YouTube.
Debuting during the season’s third quarter, the advertisement, A New Truck to Love, was directed by Oscar-nominated director Bryan Buckley, who is dubbed ‘King of the Super Bowl’ for his role in having brought to life more than 40 commercials for the Big Game so far.
The spot imagines how a rancher might use a key feature of the variant and the industry’s first factory truck-bed audio system which allows music to play outside the vehicle. It features a witty twist: What if his sheep learned how to sing? The spot shows the sheep being dropped off only to start performing a musical wonder.
The spot developed by creative agency of record, RPA, signals the carmaker’s return to the Super Bowl as well as the relaunch of Ridgeline into the market post-enhancement. According to Honda, the model’s innovations include also the standard in-bed storage trunk and dual-action tailgate—all industry-exclusive features.
“With so many truck buyers passionate about football, the Big Game is the perfect setting to introduce the all-new Ridgeline and the distinctive features that make it the ultimate tailgating vehicle,” said Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Honda Automobile Division.
A New Truck to Love was shot using real sheep and a trained sheep dog. The special effects were produced to stay true to the anatomy and natural behaviour of the animal. The production included a study of the movement of sheep’s mouths to determine how their facial muscles might react while singing.
The exercise entails a multi-platform campaign which features activation executions across several channels to include screens and online properties. In addition, the digital aspect of the push will see the automotive giant take over both ESPN and MSN’s homepages from 7-8 February 2016.
Short videos will be posted to Honda’s social channels before and after the Big Game to highlight the truck’s new features. A lead generation card will run on Twitter throughout the same month targeting users interested in signing up for details on the Ridgeline.
Meanwhile, consumers who request additional information on the new variant via the campaign’s microsite stand to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win an all-expense-paid two-night trip to Camp Ridgeline, a ride-and-drive experience at the Rio Cibolo Ranch in San Antonio, Texas on 21 May 2016.
