Honda's second Super Bowl ad in a row promotes the redesigned 2017 Honda CR-V by bringing celebrities' high school yearbook photos to life.
It's easy for animation of familiar faces to fall into the uncanny valley of weirdness, like the CGI Carrie Fisher at the end of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." But in the hands of Honda's longtime agency RPA and director Angus Wall, young versions of Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Viola Davis, Jimmy Kimmel and others are suddenly your favorite friends from high school, tying the shiny CR-V to an affirming message.
The ad ranked second on USA Today's annual popularity contest, the Super Bowl Ad Meter, after "Hero's Journey" by Kia.
Honda released a teaser for the commercial on Feb. 1, the Wednesday before the game, featuring Steve Carell coming to life in his high school yearbook. It followed up by releasing the entire spot, full of talking celebrity yearbook photos, on Feb. 2 for "Throwback Thursday."
In 2016 Honda ran a 60-second Super Bowl ad called for its Ridgeline truck that featured sheep singing Queen's "Somebody to Love" ("A New Truck to Love").
BRAND: Honda
YEAR: 2017
AGENCY: RPA
SUPERBOWL: LI
QUARTER AIRED: 2
