August 15, 2013

When brands do good things dishonestly

So you have probably seen the new Honda Viral.   It’s a very clever use of everything that Social Media and real-life Community Marketing has to offer.  Honda are backing a campaign to save the All-American Drive In Movie Theatre.  These mainly family-run businesses are struggling to survive, as they grapple with the high costs of converting to digital projection.

There is a quiet little irony in using youtube to save old-school cinemas from death-by-digital, of course.  But, maybe a bigger irony in seeing a Japanese Car Company positioning itself as the saviour of “An American Icon”.  With no double-take that I can detect.

I wonder how many people are fooled by all this?  And I wonder if it matters?  If you dance with the devil and he pays for the band, maybe all’s well that ends well?  But, for the record: I don’t suppose many Americans drove their families into Drive In Movie Theatres in Hondas, back in the Good Old Days that Honda is now harking back to !

Thoughts?