The Honda COG Commercial

You Won't See on Television

This Honda Ad Will Have You Scratching Your Head!

By Jake Easton
R A D O K   N E W S

Posted: January 31, 2003
Updated: November 11, 2005

The clever two-minute Honda "COG" commercial is a real-time creation that took seven painstaking months to prepare - and 606 video takes - that results in a mesmerizing chain reaction that will leave you scratching your head.

The $1 million commercial was produced by Wieden and Kennedy UK, and features a collection of 85 ball bearings, levers, wiper blades, tires, mufflers, and other car parts all coming together to seamlessly trigger dozens of events to promote the reliability of Honda's 2003 Accord.

Actual filming was performed over four near-sleepless days in a Paris studio, after one month of script approval, two months of concept drawings and four months of development and testing.

One of the more surprising things about the ad is that there were no animated tricks used in its production. Although it would have been much easier to manipulate the ad by using computer graphics, every complex event took place in a single, uninterrupted two-minute sequence.

During the pre-shoot set-ups, the film assistants were as nervous as cats in a room full of rocking chairs, tiptoeing around the set so they wouldn't disturb the super-sensitive creation of the arranged metal and rubber. The slightest vibration could have undone hours of work.

The advertisement has only been seen in limited regions within Europe and Australia.  Due to the format restrictions and video duration, the only way for U.S. and other world audiences to see the ad is here on the Internet.

This video makes the art of stacking dominos, well, child's play.

View the Honda COG Ad Online...

References

· Daily Telegraph
· Daily Record
· MSN Slate
· Auto News
· Independent
· Car Pages

Jake Easton is a freelance writer and author of the book,
Americans Behaving Badly, by Radok Press.  ISBN: 0972242805

'COG' rolling through Accord power window.

Runaway fan triggers rolling muffler.

Auto-sensing wipers crab-crawl across floor.