Ad of the Day: Honda celebrates glorious Le Mans failure with silk screen tribute
DDB Paris’ print campaign for Honda marks the motorcycle marque’s failed attempt at Le Mans 24.
The grueling race of Le Mans is as famous for the almosts, the nearly theres and the not quite as it is for sporting triumphs.
Held in April year since 1978, the motorcycle edition of the endurance event rewards manufacturers and engineering teams as well as the riders.
Taking part is an act of endurance itself. Last year, Honda Moto France hoped to be crowned the greatest ever manufacturer in the history of the race – but in the end, fell short in third place.
Weeks ahead of this year’s event, the brand is marking this achievement, and the tale behind it, with a special campaign created by agency DDB Paris, which has created a series of 24 silkscreen prints.
Each screen print is made with ink produced from the engine oil of the Honda motorbikes raced in the 2022 event by French screen printing studio Shlag Lab. The mono-color prints show 24 different photographs taken from the race, accompanied by captions telling the story of Honda’s ill-fated attempt at the throne.
DDB Paris’s short film ‘The Beautiful Fail’ continues that story, following the agency’s exhibition of the prints at motorcycle shows.
Credits
Honda Moto France
Brand managers: Sébastien Pernel, Valérie Larousse, Laura Henimann
DDB Paris
Chief creative officer: Alexander Kalchev
Creative directors: Alexis Benbehe, Pierre Mathonat
Art director: Jean Weessa
Copywriter: Damien Veillet
Agency account managers: Vincent Léorat, Tom Salvan
Print production: Erick Barbotte, Corinne Vulliez
Video case: Pierre Mathonat, Alexis Benbehe, Julien Beuvry
Creative traffic: Sophie Toque, Virginie Fruchard
Silkscreen workshop: Shlag Lab