Part Animal... Part Machine

"I'm not ashamed I can't function in society like I'm supposed to." - Paul Westerberg

Very cool Honda ad...
 READ THE TEXT BEFORE YOU CICK ON THE LINK

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film.

Everything you see really happened in real time exactly as you see it.

The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work.

They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions. The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete including full engineering of the sequence.

In addition, it's two minutes long, so every time Honda airs the film on British television, they're shelling out big bucks. However, it is fast becoming the most downloaded advertisement in Internet history.

Honda executives figure the ad will soon pay for itself simply in "free viewings."  (Honda isn't paying a dime to have you watch this commercial!).

When the ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately without any hesitation - including the costs.

There are six and only six hand-made Accords in the world. To the horror of Honda engineers, the filmmakers disassembled two of them to make the film.

Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) are parts from those two cars. The voiceover is Garrison Keillor.

When the ad was shown to Honda executives, they liked it and commented on how amazing computer graphics have gotten.  They fell off their chairs when they found out it was for real.

Oh, and about those funky windshield wipers. On the new Accords, the windshield wipers have water sensors and are designed to start doing their thing automatically as soon as they become wet.


http://www.steelcitysfinest.com/HondaAccordAd.htm
Published Wednesday, March 15, 2006 10:13 PM by gonzo

Comments

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Wednesday, March 15, 2006 11:00 PM

<a href="http://www.snopes.com/autos/business/hondacog.asp">Snopes</a> claims this is legit, but I've always been suspicious. It's a brilliant concept, no question, and incredibly well executed by whatever means -- but there are at least a couple of moments in the film that don't ring true in terms of real-world inertia. For example, when the muffler rolls end-over-end across like five feet of floor -- I challenge anyone to apply enough roll to a muffler to make it do that. And the part where several tires bounce off of each other as they roll UP an incline.

I dunno, I'd love to believe this is true, but I just don't. Unless perhaps the entire sequence was somehow choreographed on a downward slope, which would account for some of my issues... but I'd have to be convinced.

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Saturday, March 18, 2006 3:51 PM

yeah, the tires toward the front are a little suspicious as well. I like watching the video, but i would argue about the actual 'fact' on the history.

by daryllh

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Monday, March 20, 2006 12:59 PM

The tires have weights inside them to make them roll uphill.  Io would imagine that they modified the muffler as well.  No one said they didn't modify the parts, just that there's no CGI in it anywhere.  It is an actual continuous shot.    

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Monday, March 20, 2006 5:36 PM

Um... weights don't make stuff go uphill. Now, if you said HELIUM, maybe I'd buy it...

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Tuesday, March 21, 2006 10:28 AM

Ok dude.  Nearly every elevator you ride moves with counterwieghts.  COUNTERWEIGHTS!!  No Helium  

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Tuesday, March 21, 2006 10:57 AM

Ok dude. Explain to me how COUNTERWEIGHTS can be applied to a free-standing tire.

Not sayin' it's impossible. I'm no engineer. But I still don't accept this as an explanation until I can see how it would work.

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Tuesday, March 21, 2006 5:58 PM

Wow...and I agree...it IS nice when things just work.

=)

~Dave

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Wednesday, March 22, 2006 6:47 AM

The tires have a weight on one side that provides the momentum for the tire to bump the next tire, which begins the next tire rolling.  I imagin the muffler is using something similar.

by will

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Wednesday, March 22, 2006 12:40 PM

Anthony MA-  

I could draw it for you.  But, I don't have the inclination to describe it.  Just trust me that you can do it.  

# re: Very cool Honda ad...@ Wednesday, March 22, 2006 4:05 PM

Okay, uncle. I'll concede it's possible... just expressing a little healthy skepticism. Either way, as I said before, it's a great clip -- by whatever means. For me, the concept is actually more impressive than the execution anyway.