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By Webb Wright, NY Reporter

August 29, 2022 | 4 min read

Honda’s latest efforts give us all a driver’s-seat view of more than 70 years of iconic Honda products from the past, present and into the future.

Get ready for a first-person ride through the history of some of Honda’s major breakthroughs – as well as a glimpse into the future.

The Japanese carmaker has debuted its ‘Forever determined’ ad. The spot begins with grainy black-and-white footage; the camera is a bit shaky, meant to emulate the perspective of somebody riding a motorbike in the 1940s. “When we were a motorized bicycle company,” John Cena’s voice then cuts in, “they said that’s fine for the streets – but you’ll never win a race.” The shot immediately cuts to the perspective of someone sitting behind the Honda RC142 Motorcycle at the Isle of Man TT Race.

The pattern continues throughout the TV spot – each time Cena recalls a barrier that Honda has been presented with through the years, and the subsequent shot shows a new Honda vehicle designed to overcome that barrier: “You won’t win Formula 1 in a hybrid” (cut to a shot of the Honda-Powered F1 racecar winning the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship); “you’ll never make a real truck” (a shot of the Honda Baja Ridgeline Race Truck). The spot builds up to a CGI shot of the Honda eVTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle, described in a 2021 blog post as “an all-electric or a hybrid-electric or possibly both ... aircraft for Urban Air Mobility” that the company “expects to be in service sometime after 2030.”

The camera, seemingly attached to a rocket and suggesting a spacefaring future for the company, then shoots through the upper atmosphere into the starry blackness of space. The ad closes with the tagline: “The power of dreams.”

‘Forever Determined’ is being positioned by Honda as a continuation of the themes that were featured in its ‘Origin of Everything’ spot, which also included a voiceover from Cena and used lofty language and imagery to portray Honda as a brand with a historic legacy that has big plans for the future.

“As Honda prepares for an electrified future, we want to show our next generation of customers how Honda’s values have created a wide range of innovative mobility products, and we will continue to do so in the future,” said Jessika Laudermilk, Honda Auto Marketing’s senior manager. “That is the essence of our new ‘Forever Determined’ spot – the next evolution in our Honda brand campaign.”

The TV spot – which is being aired in English, Spanish and Mandarin – was launched today. It’s being rolled out “across a wide range of media platforms,” according to a press release. “A unique extension of the campaign” – in the form of a so-called ‘Honda Hub’ in Fortnite – will also be featured in the Hondaverse, the company’s branded activation on Twitch.

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