Campaign: The Making of Honda ‘Grrr’
In the first of a series from Campaign, creatives reflect on what it’s like to produce award-winning work. First up, Sean Thompson looks back at Smith & Foulkes’ 2004 ad, Honda ‘Grrr’ that scooped the Cannes Film Grand Prix. The idea for a positive hate message stemmed from Honda’s engine designer, Kenichi Nagahiro’s sheer dislike of diesel engines, the brains at Wieden & Kennedy ran with the idea, strategist Stuart Smith brought in Michael Russoff, Richard Russell and Sean Thompson on the task. The team worked with Smith & Foulkes to realise this maverick idea:
“Smith and Foulkes at Nexus were brilliant. At the time, the 3D modelling was cutting edge. They described Hate World as Liberace’s golf course, which was pitch perfect. Months went by and the most bizarre car commercial ever made was finished.”
