By Wieden + Kennedy London
2015 was always going to be an exciting year for Honda. So prepare to enjoy this very special edition of Dream as it exclusively launches Honda’s latest big adventure. Ignition is a brand film that dazzles, dares and inspires, explosively celebrating the challenging spirit that races deep through this unique company and the diversity of its products.
The driving theme here is outer space, and Ignition pays homage to that boundless dimension, the exploration of which is surely the most breathtaking feat of human endeavour to date. In the film, Honda becomes a rocket – a rocket with a powerful creative thrust composed from amazing elements that fittingly represent this iconic brand.
Ignition is a supercharged launch of creativity explored and of dreams chased. It showcases Honda’s impressive fleet and focuses on the motivation, innovation and people behind the brand’s considerable achievements. “It’s this challenging spirit from which Honda was born, and that inspired the whole concept,” says Scott Dungate, Creative Director on Honda Europe, Wieden + Kennedy London, who created Ignition.
It’s this challenging spirit from which Honda was born, and that inspired the whole concept
What separates Honda from other large car companies is that Honda was born on a challenging spirit. The founder, Soichiro Honda, not only loved to make vehicles but he loved to race them, too. “Without racing, there is no Honda,” he once said. This spirit still runs through the company today, and you can see it in the types of products they make and the goals they set themselves. When you consider the diversity of vehicles Honda offer, there are probably more Honda engines, in more races, than any other vehicle manufacturer on earth.
Honda’s range of vehicles was really exciting to play with creatively, says Dungate in an exclusive conversation with Dream: “What other car company has not only cars, but a supercar, high-power motorbikes, jet aircrafts and humanoid robots?
“Honda, of course, are also involved in many racing competitions too, with their F1 partnership with McLaren rekindling an exciting alliance. This latest film we made with Honda Europe sets out to celebrate this challenging spirit that runs deep through the company and the diversity of its products. We wanted a concept that would let us ‘show off the metal’ as the fleet featured really is beautiful. The Type R and the NSX being two models with features and lines we really wanted to capture.
“But we didn’t want to show the metal in a ‘car porn’ kind of way. That just becomes wallpaper and forgettable in the crowded car category. We wanted to give the film a story and a strong sense of human endeavour. After all, launching products like jets and robots and supercars is demanding on engineers. They cost a lot of blood, sweat and tears. There are loads of risks, from early development to final launch. I’m sure there are a lot of sleepless nights for Honda engineers. You have to be daring to launch a diverse range of vehicles like these.
“The idea we arrived on was to pay homage to space travel, perhaps the biggest feat of human endeavour yet. We found that if you lined up the Honda fleet in a certain way, it looked like a rocket when shot from above. Add a little creative licence, like cascading frost and liquid nitrogen that you see at a space shuttle launch, and were able to make essentially static cars feel alive, bursting with momentum, ready to go!
“Within the narrative, we wove in Honda stories, like the driver we show reflecting on picture of the original NSX. We also wove in sci-fi references, such as the music selection, which featured classical music recorded on the Golden Record of Voyager 1. Astronauts often wore two wristwatches as well, which is why you can see the Type R driver wearing similar – in case you were wondering.
“The final line from ground control aims to conclude the spot and encapsulate Honda’s challenging spirit. Like an old Latin proverb, ground control says, ‘Dare to do the things others only dream of’ as we pull wide and up to reveal the entire ‘rocket in the sky’.”
“The film was shot mostly on location in Kiev, on a massive abandoned 8-lane highway. The highway went over a tree-lined river, which became the perfect canvas to reflect the sky in our final scene as we cut above to see the fleet like a rocket in the sky. We used art departments, cinematographers and costume designers who had worked on sci-fi films, which helped keep it true to the genre we were emulating. To add to that, the film’s score, designed by science-fiction film composer, Walter Mair, features 2 tracks on the Golden Record that Voyager 1 took into outer space in 1977.
“We hope Ignition is well received, and that it helps people understand that Honda is a company with big ambitions, driven by a challenging spirit. In working with Honda Europe, our relationship is similar. Over the last decade or more, Wieden + Kennedy London has always endeavoured to deliver the best work possible, and, in doing so, we constantly challenge Honda. And Honda in turn, challenges us. And while this doesn’t always mean the easiest path for either of us, I think it does lead to better work.”
So enjoy every component of this issue inspired by the elite: that’s self-confessed speed addicts, Jenson Button, and British Superbikes’ star, Jenny Tinmouth. Check out Honda’s ultimate, next-generation NSX and meet Asimo, the fastest humanoid robot around and an important player in the Ignition campaign. And if that’s not enough, prepare to be in awe of the HondaJet, the brand’s game-changing £3 million plane.
Ignition is the story of Honda’s own astonishing odyssey. The journey continues. In the meantime, watch this space.
