Helpful® Honda

AGENCY: SECRET WEAPON “Rick sittig’s agency”

ROLES: ACD, ART DIRECTOR, WRITER, ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, ANIMATOR, PRESENTATION DESIGNER, STORYBOARDER, experiential design, JACK OF ALL TRADES

The SoCal Honda Dealers aren’t jerks,
they’re Helpful®.

They roam in blue polos, delivering Random Acts of Helpfulness. Even though Honda was outspent by its closest competitor 3:1 it didn't stop use from developing a juggernaut of a campaign that climbed seven share points, gained millions in free media (3.3m in 23') and grow to become one of the most liked dealer campaigns of all time (97% likeability!?!). Get the main scoop from the video on the right-then scroll down. This was a full 360 campaign, and with an idea like 'Helpful, we covered a lot.

AWARDS:
2018 Shorty AWARD Social Good Award
2020 New York Auto Show Best DAA Advertising

199 news stories worth $3.3 million in 2023

〰️

Helpful videos viewed to completion 2.2x versus all other auto videos on YouTube

〰️

Car shoppers who saw campaign are 2.3x as likely to visit a Honda Dealer VS shoppers who did not see campaign

〰️

#1 preferred dealer group beating toyota who outspends 3:1

〰️

LIKABILITY: 97% positive score after viewing campaign

〰️

199 news stories worth $3.3 million in 2023 〰️ Helpful videos viewed to completion 2.2x versus all other auto videos on YouTube 〰️ Car shoppers who saw campaign are 2.3x as likely to visit a Honda Dealer VS shoppers who did not see campaign 〰️ #1 preferred dealer group beating toyota who outspends 3:1 〰️ LIKABILITY: 97% positive score after viewing campaign 〰️

SENTIMENTAL/
DOCU-STYLE

Who knew car dealership ads could pull at the heart strings? The Honda people are actors but the people we helped were real and the stories were 100% genuine.

CANDID/
HIDDEN CAMERA

Sometimes the best way to surprise people with a Random Act of Helpfulness was to hide a camera; in a bush, in a clipboard, in a fake construction site across the street.

REALLY RANDOM
ACTS OF HELPFULNESS

Helpful was fun to lean into, but so was Random. We could show up anywhere, anytime, and as long as we were genuinely helpful, it was fair game to crash just about anything.

360 All Over

This campaign went way beyond TV. We brought the idea to internet banners, ice cream trucks, print, concerts, state fairs, auto shows, and youth sports centers—pretty much anywhere with people that could be helped.

Budgets changed, styles shifted over the years. We mixed photography with illustration, scrappy with polished.

SPONSORSHIPS & PARTNERSHIPS

We sponsored almost everything in SoCal (and North Texas for a few years). But it wasn’t just about slapping a logo on things—I always looked for ways to make the placement feel purposeful. Why was Helpful Honda at the LA and San Diego Zoos? Or the Aquarium of the Pacific? Or with the Dodgers, Angels, Rams, UCLA, USC, Ducks, Kings, Padres, and Texas Rangers? The more Helpful it was the more it made sense for us to be there.

Illustrations by me, because if I personally felt I could plus it up I would.

Cars, Cars, Cars

Once in awhile we had to push product/service.

Photo Shoots!

Secret Weapon was a small agency, and we had to make the most of every budget big and small. That sometimes meant stepping in to shoot stills for digital banners, asset libraries, or whatever was needed.

Here are a few of my favorites from over the nine years.