W+K Creates Campaign For
Re-opening Of Honda's
Swindon Factory
15.06.2009 | New Work
Wieden + Kennedy London has created a new campaign for Honda to celebrate the re-opening of its Swindon production line, and the positive effect this will have on British industry as a whole.
The print, radio and poster campaign, created by Ida Gronblom and Fabian Berglund and creatively directed by Tony Davidson and Kim Papworth champions the return to work of the Honda associates, and utilizes the phrase ‘The Honda Effect’. ‘The Honda Effect’ was an expression coined in the early 1980’s as part of the exploration of Honda’s entry into the motorbike market in the USA. Back then, Honda took potentially risky and swift business decisions which were perceived to be taken against the grain – but which ultimately paid off. This year, Honda shut down their Swindon factory for four months to prevent making permanent redundancies in the face of the financial struggles of the car industry – but which turned out to be another expeditious yet sensible strategy.
Alex Conaway, Head of Client Services, Wieden + Kennedy said, ‘Honda made a brave decision at the beginning of the year to combat the woes of the motoring industry. Temporarily shutting down a factory was no easy decision but in typical Honda style they used the ‘down time’ to totally reinvigorate the facility and put in place new technologies that were planned long before the market tumbled. Furthermore, Honda associates themselves painted, tiled, plumbed and scrubbed the Swindon plant to create the feeling of a new workplace come 1st June. The campaign celebrates the associates and the knock-on effect we hope will occur now they are making cars again.’
The campaign that runs from 15 – 28 June consists of press and radio executions which, each day, will tell stories of the impact of Honda’s employees returning to work. The posters will run in four key sites in and around Swindon for the duration of the campaign.