Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Pilot Me to the Internet

OK, they got me. The commercial sent me to the Internet.

You have probably seen the ad - the vacationing family is riding in a Honda Pilot and the kids start bopping and clicking, substituting their vocalizations for instruments. Soon the parents join in and everyone is making music and having a wonderful time.  

Congrats to the ad team for communicating such a strong message in thirty seconds. I remember that the car is a Honda Pilot and I get the point. Families traveling together in a Honda Pilot will have a good time. Plus, a large family fits comfortably. I associate the commercial with the product.

My family took road trips and there are many happy memories associated with those summers. We saw things that were interesting or beautiful and we even saw some places that no longer exist. I'm such a big fan of road trips that I continue the tradition as an adult.  This enormous country has so much to offer, we still haven't seen it all.  You begin to appreciate size and variety when you drive the United States. 

All that is true but what made the commercial stand out was the tune the family recreated. This happened to me before with Mitsubishi ad music. I couldn't place it. So I asked others, both older and younger than I am, if they recognized the Pilot song.  Everyone knew the ad but no one could identify the song. 

Off to the Internet. The tune is an Ozzy Osbourne song called Crazy Train. You can see it performed on YouTube and you will immediately recognize the opening guitar riff as the set up from the kids in the car.  

There's something about car ads and music. Whether it's Start the Commotion or Crazy Train, we pay attention. These ads make us smile and we associate with the product. So even if we are the wrong demographic, the commercial did its job.  We are talking about it (and writing about it) and that's communication.