Honda is pretty excited about its all-new Ridgeline truck, and rightly so. When the mid-sized pickup debuted at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this month, it was clear that the Japanese automaker was serious about cracking the trucking code.
The previous generation Ridgeline was a bit of an oddball — it’s shorter bed, car-like ride, and small-midsize stature didn’t really have a comfortable fit anywhere within the market. Still, it sold reasonably well — at least well enough for the conservative brand to make an encore.
With the introduction of the second-generation truck, Honda has butched up the Ridgeline’s exterior while layering in new features — one of which the automaker has decided to promote in a Superbowl spot. Using 60 precious seconds of some of the most watched moments on television, Honda showcases the Ridgeline’s truck-bed audio system that uses six exciters to play music outside the vehicle.
Talking animals has definitely been done before, but that didn’t stop Honda from employing singing sheep and deep-voiced dogs to get Queen’s “Somebody to Love” song stuck in your head.
It may not be the most laugh-out-loud ad we’ve seen yet, but Honda’s senior vice president, Jeff Conrad, defended its theme by noting that, “Great Super Bowl spots are entertaining for the fans while communicating an essential value of the product, and we believe our Honda Ridgeline commercial accomplishes both objectives in dramatic fashion.”
As for how Honda pulled off matching the sheep’s moving mouths to the music, apparently researchers had to study typical jaw movements to judge how “singing” would impact facial muscles; humor is scientific, people.
In conjunction with the Ridgeline ad, which will air during the third quarter of the game, Honda will launch a contest to reward ten winners with a trip to “Camp Ridgeline.” The winners will be flown to San Antonio, Texas where they and a guest will drive the new Ridgeline and enjoy a two-night stay in a local hotel. Maybe you will get to meet the talking animals there!
