There’s a very positive article in today’s Guardian about our new Hondamentalism campaign.

Interestingly (for us anyway), it kicks off by referring to this blog. Naresh writes:

Which brings me to Honda’s new commercial – and here, in mid-sentence, I have to stop and share something with you. Last time I wrote a piece about Honda I dared to say that one of their commercials was merely good rather than great.

Later that week my column was scanned and uploaded on to Honda’s agency’s website and I was assaulted by blog to within an inch of my life. Being a small-minded individual I swore to exact a columnist’s revenge at the next possible opportunity – which brings me to Honda’s new commercial.

Ah, the power of citizen journalism! But actually I don’t think we assaulted him at all. In fact, we were genuinely flattered that in the article at the time he compared wieden + kennedy to Pixar and suggested that our track record for hits wasn’t as consistent as theirs. Here’s what we wrote. And, as was suggested at the time, if we’re going to suffer by comparison, I’d rather it was against Pixar than some poxy ad agency.

Anyway, this doesn’t seem to have deterred him form being extremely complimentary about the new campaign. Indeed, the elliptical nature of the TV ad, which has invited criticism elsewhere, is exactly what he likes about it:

It’s not just enigmatic for impact, it’s also enigmatic for meaning. By using a commercial with some depth, intrigue and mystery, Honda is wrapping its own engineering ethos with depth, intrigue and mystery. It’s not the logical engineering obsession that featured in a good Volkswagen Passat campaign several years ago. It’s something more unknowable, and compelling, than that.

I’ve spent a year looking for a reason to be rude about a Honda ad but the truth is, while Honda and agency Wieden and Kennedy continue to experiment on behalf of the industry and continue to show how intelligent, original work can overcome all the current question marks over advertising and its ability to impact culturally and commercially, I can’t. Honda has won a Cannes Lion award as advertiser of the year. Seems fair enough to me.

Well, we certainly can’t savage Naresh this time round after such a humbling piece of flattery. Just interesting to remark that the aspect of the campaign that is seen as irritating or indulgent by some (who have pointed this out in comments on this blog) – its reluctance to immediately yield a direct sales message –  is for others the very thing that makes it powerful and compelling.

Meanwhile, Claire Beale also gives us a positive review in an article in today’s Independent. But she sees the ad as a simple, straightforward story about achievement.

Wieden + Kennedy London’s new Honda campaign breaks nationwide on Monday 7^th May. The TV spot introduces the concept of ‘Hondamentalism’ –  a word we coined to express Honda’s spirit, particularly as it applies to racing. 

Soichiro Honda said, ‘Without racing, there is no Honda.’  Whether it’s on the bike track, the race circuit, down a mountain, on a lake – it’s what they do. Excellence in racing is achieved by going that extra mile –squeezing every last drop of effort in order to be the absolute best. That’s what Hondamentalism is, and that’s what the Red H badge embodies.

The TV ad above is the first part of a campaign across several channels. A series of print advertisements will launch next week telling the stories of a few ‘Hondamentalists’ – people who personify this spirit.  And we’re doing idents for ITV’s Formula 1 sponsorship coverage, which break next weekend.

The campaign web site – www.hondamentalism.com –  will also launch on Monday 7^th May. We developed this with Midas Collective,. It allows you to take a challenge to find out if you might be a ‘Hondamentalist’.

The ‘Hondamentalism’ TV ad was directed by Mark Romanek and produced by Jonathan Chads.  Big Stu Harkness was Copywriter, and Chris Groom was Art Director.

As ever, let us know what you think of the work.