HONDA H2O

Bronze Spike

Case Film

Presentation Board

TitleHONDA H2O
BrandHONDA
Product / ServiceHONDA FCX
CategoryA06. Promotional Items
EntrantLEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Entrant Company LEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Advertising Agency LEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Media Agency ZENITHOPTIMEDIA Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Jason Williams Leo Burnett Melbourne Executive Creative Director
Sarah Mcgregor Leo Burnett Melbourne Head Of Copy
Matt Portch Leo Burnett Melbourne Senior Designer
John Trifonopoulos Leo Burnett Melbourne Production Manager
Khia Croy Leo Burnett Melbourne Account Manager
Chris Ivanov Leo Burnett Melbourne Group Account
Jason Miller Honda Australia General Manager Communication And Customer
Melissa Alterelli Honda Australia Advertising Manager

Brief Explanation

Our audience is slightly jaded when it comes to environmental messages, so we needed to really grab their attention and make them engage with our message. Rather than simply tell them how Honda is innovating to help the environment, we wanted to show them. We needed to dramatise the FCX Clarity’s greatest asset; that it is so clean-running, its only emission is water.

The Brief

Honda is one of the most environmentally-conscious car companies in the world - so much so, they were first to market with a car that emits nothing but water from its exhaust, the FCX Clarity. Virtually unknown in Australia, the FCX was isolated in the brief as a potent example of Honda’s environmental credentials. Our job was to educate and inspire people to find out more about the FCX and Honda’s greater progress in reducing their environmental footprint. Rather than a ‘green lecture’, we needed communication that would stop and surprise our target – a demonstration, not another sermon.

How the final design was conceived

To surprise the audience, the bottle had to look like an everyday water bottle. So we took our design cues from popular brands of upmarket water, while still staying true to Honda’s look, underpinned by the Univers Light typeface. The H2O marque is a play on the Honda badge and was integrated into the copy. To avoid obscuring the water with a solid label or complicated design, we crafted an elegant and simple look and chose to print on a clear background. This way you could literally see at a glance just how clean the FCX’s emissions are.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The giveaway was Honda’s most successful to date, with an increase in website visits to learn more about the FCX and Honda’s greater environmental credentials. The success of the activation led to bottles being placed in the fridges of Honda dealerships Australia-wide, allowing us to target drivers directly and start a bigger conversation about hydrogen fuel as a viable alternative.