Difficult is worth doing

"When Honda launched its new Accord it faced some tough competition. The vehicle would have to compete with the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series in a sector where purchase decisions were based on desirability rather than more rationality. Research into the car’s development revealed that the new car had been incredibly tough to design and this became a mantra for the advertising campaign. We created our own communications challenge in line with the Honda mantra of “Difficult is Worth Doing” and the target market’s willingness to work hard to achieve their own goals. The message built up to a single one-off media event that articulated the idea that “Difficult is Worth Doing”. Short TV spots showed a skydiving team preparing to jump with a url leading to a diary detailing preparations for a major skydiving jump. Closer to the event we highlighted an event on Channel 4 at 8.10pm on May 29, again using skydiving imagery. Timed to coincide with a nationwide series of launch activity in Honda dealerships, the event was the UK’s first ever three minute live action TV ad. The message broadcast live from Spain showed 18 skydivers falling 14,000ft to spell out the letters H, O, N, D and A in sequence. Channel 4 attracted an extra 200,000 viewers to see the ad and more than £2m worth of PR was achieved in prime editorial environments such as the BBC, La Tribune and the New York Times. Channel 4 attracted an extra 200,000 viewers to see the ad and more than £2m worth of PR was achieved in prime editorial environments such as the BBC, La Tribune and the New York Times. Consumers flocked to the website with more than 4,000 prospects identified. Desire for the Accord leapt by 38 points on brand tracking and more than £1m Accord sales were generated in a single weekend."