FreshNetworks Blog

Honda believes that ‘Difficult is Worth Doing’. And with a bit of cajoling from Channel Four, they also seem to believe that innovation is worth a try.

Last week in the UK saw a live advert in prime time on a national broadcaster. Not only was the advert live, it was also quite adventurous, and rather good. At 8.10pm during a commercial break on Channel Four, a team of skydivers jumped out of a plane over Spain and spelt out the word HONDA for all of us to watch. A good concept, well realised. But for me what’s interesting is what this says about advertising and broadcasting more broadly.

Times could be challenging for traditional TV advertising in the future. Two trends are meaning that the existing models may no longer apply:

1. A shift to multi-channel and on-demand TV means that people have much more choice. It was only a few years ago that most people in the UK had, at most, five channels to choose from. By 2012 all of the UK should be on digital television with tens, if not hundreds, of options to choose from. In this environment, attracting advertising spend will be more challenging – more channels competing for the same viewers and the same advertising spend. Add to this the rise in use of hard disk recorders and on-demand TV which can let you fast-forward through commercial breaks. You need to find a way to make people want to watch your adverts. You need to be more innovative.
2. Marketing is shifting from a traditional interventionist approach – above the line advertising which is on the brand or advertiser’s terms – to an approach where marketing is more integrated into consumer’s lives, where it’s more of a conversation. You need to find new ways to engage people.

Honda’s live ad last week will be just the first of a series of different innovations in TV advertising in the near future as people experiment with new formats, and new ways of engaging the audience and making them watch.

And if you weren’t one of the 2.2 million people who saw the live Honda ad last week, here it is (look out for the special message from the cameraman).