Talking animals are practically the price of admission for a Super Bowl ad, but Honda and RPA go one step further with sheep that sing. Not only that, they absolutely nail Queen's "Somebody to Love."
By virtue of shelling out for a minute-long spot, Honda also has time to spell out the pitch: The 2017 Ridgeline is the only truck offering a truck-bed audio system.
The brand released the ad on Feb. 1, the Monday before the game. The online version also invited consumers to click for more information; you see that tag at the end above.
Honda last advertised in the Super Bowl in 2014 with a spot called "Hugfest," also by RPA, that promoted safety using a humorous approach that starred Bruce Willis and Fred Armisen. But Honda and RPA went way back, previously running Super Bowl ads such as "Peaks" (2005) and "Grow Up" (1995).
Director: Prolific Super Bowl vet Bryan Buckley, whose other big-game spots include TurboTax's "Love Hurts" (2014), Best Buy's "Ozzy vs. Bieber" (2011), Bud Light's "Conan O'Brien" (2009), CareerBuilder.com's "Monkeys," (2005) and FedEx's classic "Desert Island" (2003). Production company: Hungry Man.
Exec VP/chief creative officer: Joe Baratelli. Senior VP/executive creative director: Jason Sperling. Creative director/art director: Brent Singer. Senior art directors: Matthew Pullen, Amy Servidea. Senior copywriters: Audrey Attal, Chris Bradford. Senior VP/chief production officer: Gary Paticoff. VP/executive producer: Isadora Chesler. Senior producer: Eva Ellis. VP/director of business affairs: Maria Del Homme. Exec VP/management account director: Brett Bender. VP/group account director: Adam Blankenship. VP/management supervisor: Cathy O'Gorman. Account supervisor: Jacob Gentry. Account executives: Christina Contreras, Chris Varela. Senior VP/group strategic planning director: Christian Cocker. Associate director-strategic planning: Nargis Pirani. Senior strategic planner: Elissa Murch. Program manager: Melissa Heitman.
BRAND: Honda
YEAR: 2016
AGENCY: RPA
SUPERBOWL: 50
QUARTER AIRED: Q3
