Honda wins May Thinkboxes with live skydiving ad

The three-minute ad, broadcast live on Channel 4, was extensively previewed in the media in a an attempt to make it destination viewing. More than 2m people watched it.

The live spectacular came about when media agency Starcom asked media owners to come up with ideas to interpret and illustrate Honda's "Difficult is worth doing" mantra. Channel 4 submitted the most compelling response -- a "live ad".

Ian Armstrong, UK marketing manager at Honda, said: "People tend to support bold moves in advertising, and we have a track record of doing that. We understand the risks of running something live but we wanted to cause a bit of noise and I was amazed by the reaction it got."

The Thinkbox Academy judges were united in their praise of this landmark piece of TV. Steven Woodford, chairman and CEO of DDB, said: "Good on 4Creative, Wiedens and Honda for pulling off this great stunt. I loved the 'Hello Mum' on the gloves!"

The Honda ad edged out second-placed Drench, which featured dancing Thunderbirds puppet Brains, and third-placed "foam city" for Sony.

The Thinkboxes are held in partnership with Haymarket Brand Media, parent company of Marketing, Campaign and Brand Republic. The monthly, free-to-enter awards cover all forms of TV advertising creativity, including spots, idents, ad-funded programming, interactive TV, internet and mobile TV ads.

Up to 10 shortlisted entries are judged each month by the members of the Thinkbox Creative Academy. To see the full shortlist and view the winning entry, go to www.thinkbox.tv/thethinkboxes.

Client
Ian Armstrong, Honda
Brief
Bring "difficult is worth doing" to life on TV
Creative agency
4Creative/Widen & Kennedy London
Creatives
James Springall, Craig Hanratty
Director
Tim van Someren
Production company
North One
Media agency
Starcom