Hondamentalism press release from Honda

Here’s Honda’s press release on Hondamentalism.
Media InformationWednesday, May 02, 2007
HONDA SHOWCASES RACING SPIRIT AND PASSION FOR ENGINEERING IN NEW CIVIC TYPE R CAMPAIGN
Honda’s new integrated advertising campaign breaks nationwide on Monday 7th May, to support the recent launch of its best-selling hot hatch, the Civic Type R.
Developed by Wieden & Kennedy, the first TV creative introduces the concept of ‘Hondamentalism’ - Honda’s unique racing spirit and endless pursuit of excellence which has run throughout the whole company since day one.
The sixty second spot opens with a long road. At the far end of the road we see several bright lights. At the near end we see seven engineers. The voice of Garrison Keillor comes in, saying ‘an engineer once said that to build something great is like swimming through honey’.
Our engineers set off on the long road towards the bright lights. As their journey progresses, a strong wind begins to blow – becoming more intense as they continue, knocking them over and spreading debris around. As they struggle ever closer to those lights they are seen helping each other, carrying each other, spurring each other on against the wind.
They reach the lights and the famous ‘RedH’ Honda badge appears – a marque only carried on racing cars and Type R production vehicles. By working together, by helping each other in the massive struggle and challenge to achieve the absolute fullest potential which only the RedH logo commands, they have reached their goal. That’s Hondamentalism.
Ian Armstrong, Customer Communications Manager of Honda UK comments:“Racing is in Honda’s DNA. It always has been. Whether it’s on the bike track, the race circuit, down a mountain, on a lake – it’s what we do. Excellence in racing is achieved by going that extra mile –squeezing every last drop of effort in order to be the absolute best. That’s what Hondamentalism is, and that’s what the RedH badge embodies. Putting that badge on the bonnet of the new Type R says it all when it comes to how this racing spirit is reflected in the products we sell.”
Tony Davidson, Creative Director at Wieden & Kennedy comments:“Honda’s Red H badge is only bestowed on vehicles worthy of the race track. Internally it is an honour to be asked to work on one of these projects. No other company is as committed to research and development. No other company has such passionate engineers. No other company would dare to make a campaign like this.”
‘Hondamentalism’ is the first creative in an integrated campaign across several channels. A series of print advertisements will launch next week featuring a range of ‘Hondamentalists’ in order to demonstrate the depth of Honda’s racing and engineering heritage. Additionally, the campaign will be supported in the idents of ITV’s Formula 1 sponsorship coverage, which break next weekend.
The campaign web site – http://www.hondamentalism.com/ - will also launch on Monday 7th May. Developed by Midas Collective, it allows users to take a challenge to explore the concept further and find out if they are a ‘Hondamentalist’. The site also features all the content from http://www.redh.co.uk/ along with a new 360-degree colour changer.
‘Hondamentalism’ was directed by Mark Romanek and produced by Jonathan Chads. Creative Directors were Tony Davidson and Kim Papworth. Stuart Harkness was Copywriter, and Chris Groom was Art Director.