Honda campaign spotlights its products’ unfortunate longevity, via Howatson and Company

November 13, 2025 11:11

Honda flips a positive into a humorous negative in its new campaign.

Honda’s latest campaign with Howatson and Company takes an unconventional approach to advertising its lawn and garden products.

The manufacturer’s new campaign with the creative agency showcases the longevity of its Power Equipment products.

But instead of highlighting their long-lasting nature as a positive, the campaign paints it as a negative, on the grounds that even when consumers are desperate to buy new Honda products, they cannot, because their older model still works.

Howatson and Company was in charge of the cross-channel campaign’s creative and media.

The business won Honda’s media account in February 2024, after Mumbrella reported in late 2023 that the automotive and equipment manufacturer was gearing up to put its media account to pitch. Zenith Media was the account’s previous incumbent.

Enjoying Mumbrella? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.

In a media release, Eva Barrett, general manager of brand, marketing and customer experience at Honda, said the brand wanted to have fun “with a very serious product truth”.

“We wanted to have some fun with a very serious product truth. Our customers know Honda products go the distance, so we’re taking that fact and turning it into something distinctively memorable,” she said.

For the team at Howatson and Company, nailing the tone was absolutely essential for ensuring that audiences would understand the work’s humour and not derive anything negative from it.

“With a campaign idea like this, getting the tone absolutely spot on is vital. The last thing we want is people to associate Honda products with tears and not get the joke,” the agency’s deputy chief creative officer, Richard Shaw, wrote in a comment sent to Mumbrella.

“So it was a brave move, but thanks to a close collaboration with the Honda team and [production company] Rabbit, we think we got it just right.

“It’s an awesome truth about the tools that we got to play with. Turning an epic positive into a reason to be gutted was a lot of fun to write and produce.”

In a release, Shaw explained further, “Showing people frustrated or crying at the same product you’re trying to sell, just built a few generations earlier, isn’t common on TV. But it humorously highlights a brilliant product benefit.”

The campaign started playing in the market in October and is expected to run through to December. It is running across in-store, out-of-home, TV, digital, and online video channels.

Honda’s campaign is the latest piece of work Howatson and Company has worked on this year. In early October, the creative agency developed a billboard for Selleys Liquid Nails that challenged passersby to remove a glued-on item from it. A month prior, the company’s “Dirty Old Secrets” collaboration with plant tonic brand Seasol was released.

Howatson and Company also delivered campaigns for Yates and Allianz.

CREDITS

Honda

General Manager Brand, Marketing, CX: Eva Barrett

Creative Manager: Glenn Gibbins

Marketing Manager: Ben Familton

Digital Marketing Lead: Ruby Murphy

Marketing Campaign Specialist: Deana Bazzanella

Howatson+Company Creative

Deputy Chief Creative Officer: Richard Shaw

Senior Art Director: Dan Smith

Senior Copywriter: Ernie Ciaschetti

Senior Designer: Gabriella Dudman

Studio Lead: Simon Merrifield

Howatson+Company Account Management

Chief Executive Officer: Chris Howatson

Managing Director: Andrew Drougas

Client Partner: Ben Peachell

Senior Account Director: Ella Hine

Strategy Director: Joe Ronan

Howatson+Company Media

Head of Strategy & Planning: James Turner

Head of Investment: Liz Lonsdale

Strategy Director: Tess Linkins

Media Director: Jessica Lane

Senior Media Manager: Brad Szmerling

Senior Media Executive: Jarrod Kenley

Production

Production Company: Rabbit

Director: Aimee-Lee Xu Hsien

Executive Producer; Lucas Jenner

Executive Producer: Alex Hay

Producer: Morgan Hind

DOP: Alex Serafini

Casting: Nick Hamon Casting

Post House: The Editors

Online: Stuart Cadzow

Grade: Ferg Rotherham

Offline: Fraser Kelton / Howatson+Company

Sound: Shane Vancuylenberg / Howatson+Company

Senior Producer: Natalie Greaves / Howatson+Company