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Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Creative in association withGear Seven
Group745

Why W+K London Froze an Entire Honda Civic Just to Watch it Thaw

20/08/2014
Advertising Agency
London, United Kingdom
328
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Johnny Hardstaff's 200-take ice hot spot

Hot on the heels of the recently released ‘Other Side of Honda’ campaign introducing the Civic Type R Concept, Honda Motor Europe and Wieden+Kennedy London are back with a new multi-channel campaign celebrating the Civic range and Honda’s unparalleled dedication to thorough testing. 

The campaign is based on the idea that ‘there’s testing, then there’s Honda testing’, showcasing the dramatic lengths the manufacturer will go to when testing their vehicles, specifically the Civic model. At Honda’s European manufacturing plant in Swindon UK, they test the cars to the extreme in a specially controlled climate chamber from -30’c to +80’c conditions. Activity is led by a 30” film, which brings to life the extreme environments the Civic is subjected to during testing – from ice cold to extreme heat – by encasing the car in ice before slowly melting it away against a changing backdrop. 

Based on an insight from consumer behaviour studies undertaken with Google, which have shown that such qualities form a key part of the purchase journey during the period of research and comparison, the campaign will highlight the Civic’s desirable looks whilst also reinforcing its reputation for safety and reliability.

The campaign launches with a 30 second film, which is further supported by a 10 second online film and print executions. A rich media ad will feature an interactive version of the film, allowing the user to change the temperature of the ad and watch the environment change in response. 

Directed by Johnny Hardstaff, the film features a Civic frozen to sub-zero temperatures. Over a 5 hour sequence, the production team watched the car and snow-covered set melt, filming 200 takes of the process on a motion control rig. 

The biggest challenge came in the form of stitching together the takes to achieve an in-camera melt/freeze effect. MPC's team, led by Adam Crocker, developed a technique that enabled them to navigate intuitively through hundreds of motion control takes, giving the director and creative team full creative control over the rate at which the car and floor was melting/ freezing. MPC's 3D team enhanced the scenes to augment the snow-covered environment, turning a skeleton into a snowman and a cactus into conifers.


Credits


Creative Directors: Scott Dungate & Graeme Douglass

Copywriter: Chris Lapham

Art Director: Aaron McGurk

Producer: Sally Miller

Group Account Director: Paulo Salomao

Account Director: Alex Budenberg & Lex Higlett

Executive Creative Directors: Tony Davidson / Kim Papworth

Agency Executive Producer: Danielle Stewart


PRODUCTION

Production Company: RSA

Director: Johnny Hardstuff

Executive Producer: Scott Heron 

Director of Photography: Martin Ruhe 


EDITORIAL 

Editorial Company: Whitehouse 

Editor: John Smith 


VFX

VFX Company: MPC

VFX Supervisor: Carsten Keller 

Flame Artist: Adam Crocker

Post Producer: Dionne Archibald


MUSIC + SOUND DESIGN

Music+Sound Company: Eclectic 

Composer: Colin Smith 

Sound Designer: Joe Mount

Producer: Cliff Wilson 


MIX

Mix Company: Wave Studios 

Mixer: Joe Mount

Credits
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