neuronbob

That is a great ad. It would be 10x better with a SH-SH-AWD (Acura, come up with another name for this long acronym PLEASE!) RLX.

Nice job!

getakey

+1

getakey

Got this in an email from friend
Obviously Honda can do some good ads when they try. Not sure how long ago this was


. Description:

And I thought dominoes were a big deal. Worth the long intro, but great without it.


If you thought that the people who set up a room full of dominoes to have them knocked over later was amazing, you haven't seen anything yet.
There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in these images.
Everything that you see happened in real time exactly as you see it.
The recording required 606 takes and in the first 605 takes there always was something, usually of minor importance, that didn't work. It was necessary for the recording team to install the setup time after time and it took several weeks working day and night to achieve this effect.
The recording cost 6 million dollars and it took 3 months to finish, including the engineering design of the sequence.
The duration of the video is only 2 minutes, but every time that Honda shows the commercial on British television, they make enough money to support any of us for the rest of our lives. However, this commercial has turned out to be the most displayed in the history of the Internet.
Honda execs think that it will pay for itself simply because of the free showings (Honda is not paying one cent for you to see it)
When Honda senior execs viewed it, they immediately approved it without hesitation-including costs.
There are only six Honda Accords built by hand in the whole world, and to the horror of Honda engineers, the recording team disassembled two of them for the recording.
Everything you see in the sequence (besides the walls, floor, ramp and untouched Honda Accord) is part of those two automobiles. The voice is that of Garrison Keiller. The commercial was so well received by Honda execs when they saw it, that their first comment was how amazing the computer graphics were. They almost fell out of their chairs when told that the recording was real without any graphics manipulation.
By the way, about the wind shield wipers in the new Honda Accords, they are sensitive to water and designed to start working as soon as they get wet.*

weather

I have been watching TV and have seen the RLX commercial 5 times in the last 2h!!

Jerzyboi

Don't be surprised to see quite a bit on tonight with the Final Four on ESPN my friends. I want to see the "other" commercial of the two I've seen on youtube.

mugen_kid

All this week Fox News has been running this commercial as well, Almost every commercial break. I was kind of surprised, now I'm sick of the commercial glad to see some marketing from Acura though. They just need some more material to run.

weather

^^ That is the channel I was watching too

GoHawks

Excellent commercial. Reminds me of the "Precision Crafted Performance" says. When Acura had an identity.

Colin

I really like that one too. But it is a luxury (no pun intended) to have 1:30 to tell the story vs :30 seconds. In this respect it's a lot like Cog and Impossible Dream (<IMO, the best ever)

GoHawks

I agree it was a little long.

neuronbob

THE BEST HONDA AD OF ALL TIME. Sorry just had to quote for truth there. I can never see Cogs enough times, thank you for giving me another excuse to watch that piece of art.

Acura needs more memorable ads like that.

KeithL

I like the ad, just seems it should not be for the RLX. It should be for the SH-SH-AWD. No offense, but the RLX does not increase my adrenaline the way the ads hints at.

mugen_kid

Acura has changed the Luxury commercial a bit. I heard it yesterday and thought to myself it sounds different for some reason. I just heard it again and studied the commercial. Looks like the Luxury shower and Luxury towel have been replaced with Luxury Suit and Luxury Shoes lol!

noobie

I saw the new TV too and I don't get it. Luxury coffee, shower, suit, shoes, whatever are really emotional purchases and have no correlation or very little to value.

The RLX is nothing like that. It does appeal to the emotions. It is "smart luxury". More like Costco. Get high quality at a good price..... However the good price seems to be missing now too.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I made a comparison in another thread. In the end, it depends on what "good price" mean to you. Does it mean having an absolute value of $50k and below? Or do you mean compare to the German models, it's $10k+ cheaper when comparably equipped.

noobie

Little bit different here. They are trying to market the RLX as something that evokes the same emotional response and satisfaction from consumption of a luxury good such as coffee, high end fashion, towels, etc. These goods have substitutes that perform the same function at a much lower cost, but without the emotion or perception of luxury. The RLX does not fit. It has no sizzle.

That's what I meant when the ad does not fit since they built the car to be more practical and value oriented, like Costco's positioning.

They are advertising it like the RLX delivers what Saks and Neimans does, but building it like Costco, but now without the savings of Costco.

Kinda messed up product and marketing strategy IMO.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I see what you mean. I think it would take the AWD model to generate that emotional response. With that said, as mentioned, I think the "savings" are still there. The question is if those savings are enough or not.

deepen03

that Canada ad is awesome!

TSX69

2014 Acura RLX "Luxury Luxury" Commercial: They Wish!

1 of the dumbest things to do in a commercial is overpromise. If people have been falsely led to have high expectations about a product, the truth is bound to disappoint them and that leads to a guaranteed no sale. But even though this RLX commercial is all about overpromising, in this case that might not be a bad approach. I’ll explain why, but 1st let’s look at the spot itself.

The commercial focuses on the morning rituals of a wealthy and stylish man who wakes up in his “luxury” bed, washes in his “luxury” shower, dries off with his “luxury” towel, puts on one of his “luxury” suits, then—enough! Stop! We get the picture!

After he lattes up, he walks out the front door (doesn’t he have a luxury garage?) and beholds his new Acura RLX. He climbs aboard, closes the door with a luxury thunk, and revels in splendor so grand that it renders everything else he owns “ordinary.” To which I say, “no.” If he had gotten into his new Bentley Continental GTC or Lycan Hypersport, then I’d play along, but a $50,000 Acura is supposed to take this 1-percenter hedonist to a “whole new level” of luxury, 1 which consists mostly of amenities that have been around in other cars for years? In his ZIP code, I’m surprised the neighbors even let him park it in front of the house overnight.

So why might it make sense for Acura to make such a transparent overpromise? Because even after more than 25 years, Acura still doesn’t get respect in the luxury arena, and that’s a problem it needs to fix. Although Acura sales overall have been pretty healthy lately, the RL’s plummeted by 65% last year to 379 units. Yes, production was winding down, but the car’s 2011 numbers trailed those of the ZDX—which was recently granted a mercy killing—and it hadn’t sold in any significant volume for years.

In this commercial, they’re not talking to people like the guy in the ad, who have a legitimate experiential frame of reference for luxury. They’re talking to people who actually think that buying the right car will magically equate them to him. They can’t afford his house and its luxury accouterments (well, maybe they can spring for the sugar), but if they get an RLX everybody will think they can. This is essentially the same strategy that Lexus is using in its 2013 LS commercial, but while Lexus uses music to accompany their shots of aspirational lifestyle icons, Acura gives a verbal shout out to each 1 to make sure viewers get the message, even at the risk of mocking the very things they’re trying to lionize.

So will it work? Who knows. While we acknowledge that the all-new RLX is way better than its predecessor, product goodness alone won’t win the day for Acura’s flagship model. Mike Accavitti, American Honda’s vice president of marketing, said recently, “There’s a gap between the customer perception of what Acura is, and the luxury that is in our cars. We’re going to focus our efforts on strengthening that position and closing that gap.” Mentioning the word “luxury” 12 times in a 30-second commercial is a start.

And by the way, like you, I did notice that Luxuryman sleeps alone, although the head dent in the memory foam pillow next to him indicates that he had company at some point during the night. Maybe his luxury snoring scared her off. Or worse, maybe Acura couldn’t afford the luxury of hiring a full cast?

Timmy18

Anyone one else smell something burning?

Colin

I wonder if this was the last shot for RPA or the first misfire for Mullen?

dzionny_dzionassi

i just wondering why so many people hate Acura...

GoHawks

Actually that article echoed many of the complaints voiced here.

4thaccord

Simple: Acuras are nothing more than hugely overpriced Hondas, but more importantly, Hondas are really really inexpensive Acuras.

Colin

Did a little digging. This was made by Acura's (now) former ad agency RPA. I wonder if it'll be Mullen going forward or does RPA have others in the pipeline. Maybe a good time for change?!

Colin

How Mullen got the job
http://adage.com/article/news/inside...-acura/240520/

Colin

I still like Impossible Dream best. They made changes over the years, dropping the BAR Honda F1 and inserting HondaJet in place of the balloon. Later versions had the FCX and CR-Z but I like the original. Again, they have the advantage of two minutes to tell the story vs. 30 seconds.

TSX69

My understanding is that RPA's swan song will be the RLX & Mullen's 1st effort will be the MDX. Hopefully, this is the beginning of more new things to come from Acura.

Colin

In all likelihood, the MDX couldn't fail if it tried. It might not be the best test of whether your advertising helps or not. I guess we will just have to gauge by the critical reception.

Colin

It looks like the RLX is moving out of heavy national tv rotation this month. The middle of the month will be core models (RDX, TL and ILX) and starting the week of the 27th, MDX will hit national TV ads during NBA games. I'm anxious to see what Mullen does.

Timmy18

Are there any other ads Mullen has done previously that you know of? I'd like to see some just to see what they are like, car related or not.

I feel like the MDX commercial will be graceful.. elegant, and an over hit in my book. But that's just cause I'm imagining it the way i would do it.. ha.

Colin

^^ http://www.youtube.com/user/mullenwen

Their youtube page.

http://www.mullen.com/work/

Their work page

Timmy18

Thanks.

neuronbob

You mean RPA is gone?

Hallelujah!

It's about time for a new direction in marketing. I hope it works!

Colin

Me too. I get the feeling that RPA has been in place for quite some time. I'm guessing they were the ones that came up with the slogan, "the true definition of luxury… yours". I wonder if they were the ones that did the Hot Wheels Integra commercial?

DaeHanMeenGuk

Not sure if this is the right place to talk about this but has anyone checked Acura's facebook page?

The whole "Art of Style" event that Acura is holding to give the RLX some media exposure is odd, especially since the majority of the photos make the car appear as a mere prop rather than the subject...

GrigioTL

New RLX Commercial - it looks like Acura is responding to the mostly lukewarm reviews by the automotive press.

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Timmy18

Looks like they just put this to full use.

weather

^^^ It nice to be bilingual and understand both languages *lol* That is a fine commercial, not sure its fitted for the flagship but effective nonetheless

Timmy18

Better than "Luxury Luxury Luxury"...