The world has almost grounded to a halt in recent weeks due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Most countries have implemented some form of movement restriction, which means most people are working from home while front-liners work tirelessly to combat the virus.
Working from home does come with its limitations, however that does not mean that we’ll have to wait for things to go back to normal to get our creative juices flowing. While most car companies are scouring through old video clips to piece together stock footages, Honda UAE recruited ad agency Memac Ogilvy to make something completely different – film an entire car advertisement at home.
The ad starts off just like any other car advertisements, littered with close-up glamour shots and tracking shots of the car zooming past buildings. Everything seems normal so far, but the on-screen text gives it away quickly: “This might be the first car commercial to be written, directed, edited and watched entirely from home.”
Speaking to Ad Week, the agency revealed that the clip was done completely by two of their employees – executive Amin Soltani who acted as producer-director, and director of photography Umran Sheikh – who happens to live in the same building.
The video was filmed mostly using natural light, and the “buildings” are made out of books paired with clever use of a table lamp. To simulate the car exiting a tunnel, they pulled the car underneath the couch using a hook and fishing line. The two-man team were also limited to just one in-house camera.
And the Honda Civic featured in the advertisement? That’s a miniature model belonging to a Honda exec’s kid that was delivered to them for the purpose of this ad.
Memac Ogilvy chief creative officer Juggi Ramakrishnan said, “Our idea was to create a homemade ad and demonstrate to our audiences that life can still carry on in quarantine.”
The video ends with a hopeful message: “Until we drive again. #StayHome.”
