moonstorm
29-05-2008, 13:16
Channel 4 and Honda will tonight stage a live commercial, featuring a team of skydivers jumping from an aircraft over Madrid.
During the first ad break of the reality show Come Dine With Me at 20:10, the 19 skydivers will have three minutes and 20 seconds to spell out the word Honda, inspired by the car manufacturer's new advertising strapline: "Difficult is worth doing".
Organisers were yesterday hoping the weather in Spain would hold as the team practised. "There will be no time delay and no CGI.
The stunt is a means of gaining publicity for Honda's new multi-million pound advertising campaign, which features 45 skydivers promoting the Honda Accord by creating a series of shapes over the Mojave desert to reflect new features on the car.
Ian Anderson, Honda's manager of communications, said: "More people are watching television than ever before. But things are becoming more complicated. People have to want to watch something, you can't force them. People will navigate towards the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff."
Channel 4's sales director, Andy Barnes, said: "We wanted to create something unmissable and what better way to produce something 'must see' than to stage the first live ad event on TV," he added. "It's about creating talkability on a big scale, managing the risk and being seen as pioneers for it."
Channel 4 required special clearance from Ofcom for the commercial to go-ahead.
During the first ad break of the reality show Come Dine With Me at 20:10, the 19 skydivers will have three minutes and 20 seconds to spell out the word Honda, inspired by the car manufacturer's new advertising strapline: "Difficult is worth doing".
Organisers were yesterday hoping the weather in Spain would hold as the team practised. "There will be no time delay and no CGI.
The stunt is a means of gaining publicity for Honda's new multi-million pound advertising campaign, which features 45 skydivers promoting the Honda Accord by creating a series of shapes over the Mojave desert to reflect new features on the car.
Ian Anderson, Honda's manager of communications, said: "More people are watching television than ever before. But things are becoming more complicated. People have to want to watch something, you can't force them. People will navigate towards the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff."
Channel 4's sales director, Andy Barnes, said: "We wanted to create something unmissable and what better way to produce something 'must see' than to stage the first live ad event on TV," he added. "It's about creating talkability on a big scale, managing the risk and being seen as pioneers for it."
Channel 4 required special clearance from Ofcom for the commercial to go-ahead.