Honda dreams of net zero emissions with first all-electric SUV campaign

Dive Brief:

Honda launched a new brand campaign, "Keep Dreaming," that introduces its first all-electric SUV, the 2024 Prologue, and showcases the company's history of innovation and commitment to global carbon neutrality by 2050, per a press release.
Narrated by John Cena, the 60-second spot tracks Honda's innovations around emissions, hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) and air and space efforts through the years. The ad will appear across broadcast and streaming TV, contextual digital media partnerships, social, in-cinema and Hispanic media.
Honda also commissioned interactive murals in New York and Los Angeles that use QR codes and 3D AR animation and will extend the campaign with activations at TwitchCon Las Vegas (Oct. 20-22) as it continues its use of emerging digital channels.

Dive Insight:

At a time when the entire auto industry is ramping up EV manufacturing to meet consumer demands, Honda is out with what it calls an “ambitious” effort to launch its first all-electric SUV, the 2024 Prologue.

The transition to an all-electric, emission-free future is a key part of the labor battle between Detroit automakers and the United Auto Workers union, which expanded its strike against Ford and GM on Friday. Honda leans into the evolving automobile marketplace with a new spot that uses animation to show Honda's innovations through the ages, from work around emissions standards in the 1970s and the first hybrid-electric sold in America (the 1999 Honda Insight) to future concepts around air, space and sustainability. "Keep Dreaming" is a cinematic 60-second ad helmed by director duo Smith & Foulkes that extends Honda’s long-running "Power of Dreams" platform.

The ad will run across multiple channels and during high-profile national sports programming including the NHL, NBA Opening Night game and top-rated NFL and NCAA college football matchups. A run in Hispanic broadcast, streaming, digital and social comes as competitor Toyota and its Lexus brand look to unite multicultural and mainstream messaging.

The campaign also continues Honda's tradition of embracing emerging marketing channels, from Pinterest to Topgolf. The company worked with illustrator Paul Shipper on its first-ever murals, "Wall of Dreams," in New York and Los Angeles, which feature a QR code that activates 3D AR animation around the brand's innovation story.

The brand will also have a presence at TwitchCon Las Vegas next month, showcasing the 2024 Prologue in person and giving attendees the chance to compete in the latest iteration of the Fortnite-based Hondaverse before it debuts later in the fall. To further engage with digitally native consumers, the brand is also planning streamer meet-and-greets and merch giveaways.