Honda adds interactive element to epic £6m Accord ad

Breaking on April 14 on Sky Digital, the interactive ads will prompt viewers to press the red button to receive a DVD or a brochure. The DVD includes a full version of the ad and a making-of documentary, as well as virtual tours of the Accord. One million copies are to be distributed.

The interactive campaign was designed by Weapon 7, a creative partnership focusing on iTV. The interactive elements are designed to fit in with the style of the ad. Media is by Starcom Motive.

The "cog" ad was created by Wieden+Kennedy and broke at the weekend during the Brazilian Grand Prix on ITV. It is unusually long for a television ad at two minutes, and lacks the usual driving shots.

Instead, it shows an intricate chain reaction of 85 car parts, set up in a domino effect. It took 606 takes to get right, and five months of planning and experimentation. The ad shows parts including cogs, car batteries and walking windscreen wipers forming a chain reaction that eventually causes a Honda Accord to roll down a ramp.

Simon Smith, creative director at Weapon7, said: "The interactivity complements the above-the-line campaign and increases exposure for the whole 120-second advertisement, which runs in a loop within the dedicated advertiser location.

"Viewers are only prompted to enter their names to order the free DVD or brochure. Thus data entry is kept to a minimum and exposure to the continuously played "cog" commercial is maximised."

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