Honda is “leaping back into the Super Bowl with a commercial for its redesigned CR-V compact crossover, part of an extensive campaign that began this month and is centered on the ‘leap lists’ of ambitious life goals compiled by twenty- and thirtysomethings,” according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. The 60-second ad, via RPA, “will run in the fourth quarter” of NBC's Super Bowl XLVI telecast on Feb. 5. Honda is “among several automakers that will advertise during the game.” The other auto brand sponsors “include Audi, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Volkswagen; and spots from related marketers like Bridgestone tires and Cars.com are planned.” The company last advertised during Super Bowl XLIV in ’10. Honda Brand Manager Tom Peyton said that the commercial will be released 10-14 days before the Super Bowl, “echoing a tactic used by Volkswagen last year for its ‘Star Wars’ spot for the Passat, which was uploaded to YouTube before Super Bowl XLV and has since been watched there more than 48.3 million times.” In addition to the commercials, the campaign “includes print advertisements and presence on honda.com, social media like Facebook, a contest, a branded integration of the CR-V in an episode of ‘The Bachelor’ on ABC, digital ads and ads in movie theaters” (N.Y. TIMES, 1/11).
FROM HOLLYWOOD: In L.A., Ben Fritz noted Relativity Media “will buy a commercial spot during the Super Bowl to advertise its military action film ‘Act of Valor,’ joining three of Hollywood's six major studios in buying costly promotional time” during the game. Sources said that Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures “will also buy Super Bowl ad spots.” Those studios “have yet to announce the movies they will market during the game.” NBC is sold out of inventory, with 30-second spots going for an average of $3.5M. That amount “marks a big commitment for a small studio like Relativity, which has never had a movie gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office.” But the Feb. 24 release of "Act of Valor," which features “real Navy SEALs, is targeted at the same action-loving male audience that will likely be watching the Super Bowl in droves.” The spot will air during the fourth quarter, along with two other "Act of Valor" commercials “during pregame coverage and one in postgame.” Relativity last year bought a Super Bowl commercial promoting the release of "Limitless" (LATIMES.com, 1/10).
