"Isn't it nice when things just work?"

"Isn't it nice when things just work?"

(Honda UK Commercial - 2003)

Honda's "Cog" commercial that aired in the UK during the Spring of 2003 became an instant hit, and is responsible for changing the public's opinion on Honda from "dull but functional" to "cool and consumer friendly".  From 1998 Honda sales had steadily been declining in Britain, and much of Europe, and Honda had lost their #2 Japanese Automaker spot to Nissan.  Honda was in need of some serious re-branding to become more popular among the adult and young adult population.

This commercial produced by Wieden+Kennedy showed that Honda's are fun cars to own, and it reminded the viewer of Honda's legendary reliability.  Wieden+Kennedy is one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies in the world, their known famously for the Nike Just Do It tagline, the This Is SportsCenter campaign for ESPN, and more recently the Imported From Detroit Chrysler Campaign.

This commercial was released during the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, and was shown for the full 2 minutes.  This commercial was only aired for the full 120 seconds a limited amount of times after that, and was cut down to save money.  In total this commercial costed GBP 1m, and was apart of a GBP 6m, ad campaign.

After this ad was released, sales in the UK jumped by 28%, while Honda cut the amount spend on marketing.  Visits to Honda dealerships increased from 3,500 to about 3,700 each month, and 22% of all visits resulted in the purchase of a Honda.  Before the campaign only 19% of dealership visits resulted in a sale.

Overall, this advertisement was very successful for Honda, and perhaps helped turn the automaker's image in the UK around.  A GBP 400m revenue increase has been credited to the "Cog" commercial.  This ad has also gone down as one of the best and most successful car advertisements ever, due to its massive success.

Breandan Aslin 04/23/2013