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Impossible Dream (advertisement)

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Honda's Impossible Dream is a panoramic 2 minute long television commercial that was launched on December 2, 2005 in the United Kingdom. It anchored the "Power of Dreams" campaign which also included a website with extensive information about the series of vintage Honda vehicles that were chosen to illustrate the dreams of the founder of Honda. It featured British actor Simon Day singing, riding and driving across the scenic shorelines and roads of New Zealand, tracks in Japan, and a waterfall in South America.

Plot

A vintage record player starts playing a single, “Impossible Dream" by Andy Williams. A hand reaches out for a jacket and crash helmet, and he sets forth from his trailer into a series of vintage Honda vehicles, starting with a diminutive minibike, and ending with a powerboat that leaps off the edge of a waterfall, emerging in a hot-air balloon with the Honda logo.

Details

The original commercial was altered slightly for the England National Football Team's 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign. Flags displaying the St George's Cross were added to most scenes in the advert, such as on the back of the motorcycles and on the caravan shown at the beginning. In addition, the hot air balloon appearing at the end had a large George Cross on it, replacing the "Honda" text. The original advert, together with the England remake together cost £4.5 million to produce.

The ad was part of a campaign developed by advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy London. Creative directors and contributors included Kim Papworth, Chris Groom, Tony Davidson, Sean Thompson, and agency producer Julia Methold. Director Ivan Zacharias and producer Nick Landon are from the film production company Stink where the ad is hosted. Director of photography was Jan Velicky. Editor was Filip Malasek, from Czech film editing company Robota.

A making-of and karaoke version of the video were also made. This commercial was never released in the United States. The original version closes with a message addresses specifically to England, whilst the Australian version closes with a voice-over saying "I couldn't have said it better myself".

The music is Andy Williams singing “Impossible Dream (The Quest)” from the album, “16 Most Requested Songs”. The song is from the Don Quixote musical, “Man of La Mancha”. Song writer Joe Darion won the 1965/66 Tony award for best Broadway lyrics. The last verses of the song are omitted to fit in two minutes.

Awards

  • "Television Advertisement of the Year" in the British Television Advertising Awards

Sources

  • Duncans.TV review on which this article is partly based and contains link to an officially hosted version of the commercial
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