Honda Crosstour: Media Darling?
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Attention sports fans: while you’re kicking back watching the Super Bowl, don’t be surprised if you see an animated squirrel packing away cargo to the tune of Kool & the Gang’s “Funky Stuff.” And don’t worry, nothing’s wrong with you’re tv. The squirrel spot is simply part of the new multi-platform advertising campaign developed by ad-agency RPA for the launch of the Honda Accord Crosstour, coming at you for 30 seconds during the fourth quarter of the game.
According to Tom Peyton, senior manager, national advertising for American Honda Motor Co., Inc., “Our newest Accord Crosstour spot, ‘Squirrel,’ is intended to leverage media’s largest stage to announce Honda’s newest entry into the world of next-generation, sporty, crossover vehicles.”
It’s also about to become a media star, because in addition to the Super Bowl, the Crosstour’s squirrel spot will be featured in these places on the web during the launch period from Saturday, February 6th – Monday, February 8th:
- MSN home-page (takeover on Sat., Feb.6–Sun., Feb. 7)
- Fox Sports (home-page roadblock on Sun., Feb. 7)
- YouTube (masthead on Mon., Feb. 8)
In addition, Crosstour spots will also air in prominent positions during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, airing on NBC beginning on February 12th.
Despite the new push, branded entertainment spots, in the form of custom produced vignettes, actually began on January 1st of this year, during the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on NBC. Those vignettes ran all through the month of January, and co-promoted the return of the popular NBC television show Chuck as well as the Honda Accord Crosstour. The vignettes also followed a continuous storyline, beginning with the Winter Classic and ending with the Winter Olympics.
Other attempts to bring awareness of the Accord Crosstour to the target consumer group includes print ads in magazines ranging from Time and Forbes, to Men’s Health and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Beginning in February there will also be in-theater and outdoor ads, as well as sponsored content on various technology related websites.
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