Car manufacturers and marketers are certainly at a disadvantage during the coronavirus pandemic. People are practicing social distancing and staying home, and some cities are on complete lockdown. There’s not as much need to hop in a car unless it’s to drive to the grocery store or (ideally not) the doctor. So how do you market a car while remaining mindful of the current crisis?

Honda’s latest digital and social ad for the Dubai region aims to tackle this issue.

The 35-second spot, created by Memac Ogilvy, begins by zooming in on a blue 2020 Honda Civic. At first it appears to be like any other sheet metal commercial, but the next scene is a tell. Instead of road, we see white carpet. A wider shot reveals that the car isn’t what it originally seemed. 

Against instrumental music, we see a toy vehicle race across the carpet and under kitchen tables with shots of the interior of a home. Finally, a person uses their finger to close the mini Civic’s door.

“This might be the first car commercial to be written, directed, edited and watched entirely from home,” reads the ad copy. It closes with a note of hope: The endline reads “Until we drive again” with the hashtag #StayHome.