Annals Of Bad Advertising: Honda Edition

June 9, 2011
Don't know if anyone else has seen this yet, but Honda's most recent campaign closes with one of the least-inspired pieces of ad copy I've ever seen or heard. Here we go -- prepare yourself to be underwhelmed:"The next-generation Civic -- only from ...
Don't know if anyone else has seen this yet, but Honda's most recent campaign closes with one of the least-inspired pieces of ad copy I've ever seen or heard. Here we go -- prepare yourself to be underwhelmed:"The next-generation Civic -- only from Honda." Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a given? Who else would be marketing a Civic in the auto sector? Is the unique value proposition of this model that you're the only one manufacturing it? Not to mention that the theme of the campaign seems to be centered around the idea of "mass customization" (i.e., every one of the five characters in the ad has a "to each their own" Honda) but without the ad giving the consumer any details as to how each Civic is different, or giving the consumer any reason to believe that they are different (besides the different colors, which has been an option since after the “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black” era). (Ironically enough, during the same time as that statement was made, the Model T was not available in black but only grey, green, blue, and red.)

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