ShowBusinessMan + Honda

Honda Ballad "The Car-iest Car Ad" Tony Baggott (Frieze Films)

DDB’s The Car-iest Car Ad for the new Honda Ballade is a parody that looks like a billion dollars.

Using an operatic narration, the spot sends up the traditional car commercial formula, from the moody car intro shot to the closing slow-motion beauty shot. There’s even a panther.

“It’s an excuse to see all the features of the new Honda Ballade, with a smile,” says Frieze Films director Tony Baggott.

One of South Africa’s most experienced car directors, Tony knows the formula backwards, having shot commercials for everyone from Mercedes to Mazda.

While the ad’s tone is humorous, the execution is anything but slapstick, earning Tony and DOP Peter Tischhauser a special mention in Ididthatad’s Monthly Ereel for July. “The lighting on the Honda spot shows real skill; it’s not small thing to light a car, let alone a moving car,” said guest judge and Net#work BBDO executive creative director Jenny Glover.

Credits:
Agency: DDB, South Africa
City & Country: Johannesburg, South Africa
Agency Producer: Rachel Andreotti
Creative Team: Simon Keeling and Emile Spies
Director: Tony Baggott
Production Co & City: Frieze Films, Johannesburg
Producer: Saskia Rosenberg
Director of Photography: Peter Tischhauser
Editor & Company: Saki Bergh, Left Post Production

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Honda Ballad "The Car-iest Car Ad" Tony Baggott (Frieze Films) + Honda