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A few hours ago Channel 4 broadcast what The Guardian is calling Britain’s first ever live commercial during a break in the reality show Come Dine With Me. The three minute ad came live from the skies above Spain and featured a team of professional skydivers demonstrating Honda’s latest tagline “Difficult Is Worth Doing”.
The live nature of television is one of its biggest redeeming features, and while this commercial is certainly full of the novelty factor, its an example of the innovation that not only the advertising industry will have to adopt, but also the whole television sector in general.
For more advertising fun check out a new show that started this week on ABC1 called The Gruen Transfer, a very funny and interesting look into the industry. Or just check out some of my favourite ads, here and here.
– Thanks for the video Craig
UPDATE: Around 168,000 additional viewers tuned in to see Honda’s ambitious commercial go live to air, bringing the total audience to 2.2 million.
UPDATE 2: Various reports have suggested that the plane crashed after shooting the commercial, killing two. The Telegraph is now reporting that the same plane did in fact crash, but it happened the day after the advert was shot.
12 replies on “Channel 4 goes live for a Honda advert.”
Great adverts get people talking, and this certainly has. It would have been great for the marketing campaign if Honda got its website to appear top of Google for terms like ‘honda advert’.
Wow, I waatched the show but fell asleep before the ad!
I’ve submitted this article to digg and reddit, lets see if you get any increase traffic!
Are you really sure it was Britain’s first live advertisement?
Most countries were doing adverts live before the ability to record had been invented…
True but I believe our first was taped:
http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adverts/commercials.htm
It was very impressive but it certainly isn’t the first live advert. In fact, only a few years ago (and on Channel 4 again!) there were live adverts from the V Festival for Virgin Mobile. There must have been three in the one night.
2 died when the copter crashed recording the comercial http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/384394/0/fallecidos/accidente/avioneta/ (spanish)
Oh no thats awful ^ 🙁
the following from sydney morning herald, apparently it was the plane filming the jump that crashed:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/skydivers-jump-free-of-crashing-plane/2008/06/01/1212258619617.html
Is the accident related to the live broadcast? Cus I kinda feel like there’d be a bigger deal made out of it if so
Thanks for the heads up on The Gruen Transfer. Never would’ve been aware of it way up here in Canada. Thankfully, I can watch the streaming ABC videos even if they won’t let me download the episodes.
“It was very impressive but it certainly isn’t the first live advert.” Agreed. Certainly not.
wow, great advertisement.