Friday 31st October 2014

Honda Civic Type R: 'The Other Side'

Honda's marketing Type R marketing push kicks in with a surprisingly enjoyable interactive vid

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It's always nice to have cynicism confounded, isn't it? It was hard not to sneer just a bit at the premise of Honda's Civic Type R Concept promo film 'The Other Side'. There was talk of a 'double-side story', a 'creative force' and so on. Everyone really just wants to drive the car, don't they?

Not a great location for photos...

That the launch was in a Shoreditch warehouse, populated by trendy types wearing glasses they probably didn't need and talking mainly in hashtags, didn't look great either. However...

Honestly, the film itself is great. Honda has now made 'The Other Side' live on its YouTube channel and it really is worth three minutes of your time. There's a dual narrative featuring the same guy and two Civics, a standard white car and a red version of the concept. We won't give away too much but let's say the story following the red car is rather more illicit...

It's a really clever production, the viewer using the 'r' key on the keyboard to toggle instantaneously between the two stories. It's seamless and quite innovative. At the launch event we were sat in a racing seat with a huge screen and a giant 90s game show-style 'R' button to make it all the more exciting.

Red looks great on the move too!

Moreover, ignoring a clever marketing stunt for just a second, the film does have some tangible links to the road car. The implication is clear: the R switch will transform the Type R from a humble Civic to something rather more racy at the, er, touch of a button. It probably won't get you off any criminal charges though. And doesn't the red one look fantastic? Bring on Championship White.

One last thing. Do keep a look out for the taxi company 'Tarquini Cars'. None of the Shoreditchers probably noticed it. The car people would have and really appreciated the nerdy little touch. If Honda has put that level of attention to detail into making the advert then you have to feel positive about the actual car.

See the video here (and don't forget to press r!)

[tomellingham]

Haha - Thought it would be a bit risqué to have a Civic taking part in crime.

Those lights do look good though, they really need to keep them for production.

[tomellingham]

SonicHedgeHog said:

NateWM said:

Have Honda even confirmed prices yet? If it's anything over 25k (which it will be) then there's a multitude of cars to choose from!

Ok. So this CTR is going to have five doors, a huge boot and 300bhp. Let's assume it costs £30k. You said it was boring. What NEW car is so much more exciting than this Civic that it isn't classed as boring?

NateWM said it sounds (aurally) boring.