Dive Brief:

• Honda Canada released a 30-second video spot touting the safety features of its Odyssey model that keep owners safe from zombies on Halloween, per a news item shared with Marketing Dive.
• The video highlights vehicle features such as "LED headlights to see what's lurking in the dark," a cabin watch rear-seat monitor to keep an eye on the "little monsters" in the backseat and an angled rear-view camera to "catch things creeping up while backing up."
• The video does a good job of quickly covering actual safety features of the vehicle in a fun way, all while tapping into the Halloween spirit.

Dive Insight:

A lot of brands are running clever Halloween-themed campaigns this year, including creepy clown costume promotions and even 4-D experiential activations at theme parks. Honda's video for the Odyssey goes the extra mile, however, not just playing up the seasonal spookiness but also showcasing the specific safety features of its 2018 model.  

The video isn't Honda's first crack at using a monster motif to advertise the Odyssey. In June, it launched a multichannel campaign around the NBA and NHL finals to promote the minivan, with commercials that depicted two young siblings' backseat bickering as a blockbuster-scale battle between giant CGI monsters. Like the zombies ad, the creative doubled as a showcase for the car's specific features, with the parents serving as military personnel who use the brand's Magic Slide seats to separate the kids and save the city. 

That full campaign included in-theater ads, social media outreach, digital, print and out-of-home activations, as well as an experiential partnership with Disney. The new spot looks more like a standalone video released specifically to capitalize on Halloween, providing an example of how brands can leverage video content in a low-key manner and still get an effective message across.