Honda Super Bowl commercial highlights CR-V, old yearbooks

(February 3, 2017) TORRANCE, Calif. — Honda is debuting the brand's Super Bowl LI commercial, with the all-new 2017 Honda CR-V taking a star turn alongside a collection of some of the world's biggest stars from film, television, music, sports and even comic books. Scheduled to run in the first break during the second quarter of the game on Sunday, the automaker's new :60 spot "Yearbooks," takes viewers back in time through a look at the high-school dreams of famous celebrities before they were household names, and the spirit that drove them to chase those dreams.

As the CR-V turns 20, Honda wants to remind viewers of "The Power of Dreams," and how it has inspired the vehicle's evolution into the best-selling SUV in America.

Honda has called on celebrities Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Viola Davis, Missy Elliott, Tina Fey, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jimmy Kimmel, Stan Lee and Robert Redford to introduce the all-new 2017 CR-V, 20 years after the popular SUV was first introduced during Super Bowl XXXI. Each celebrity provides insight into their journeys toward success, reflected through their high-school yearbook photos.

Just as the CR-V was once the new kid on the block before becoming America's best-selling SUV, all of the stars featured in "Yearbooks" began with a dream and the determination to achieve it.

"Since its introduction in 1997, CR-V has set the standard for efficiency, practicality and driving fun, becoming a customer favorite and taking the title as America's best-selling SUV over the past two decades," said Susie Rossick, assistant vice president, Honda Auto Marketing. "To celebrate the all-new, fifth-generation CR-V, we wanted to share inspiring stories that bring to life what we mean when we talk about The Power of Dreams."

Created and produced by RPA, agency of record for Honda, the spot was crafted using cutting-edge technology to bring the high-school yearbook images to life. Layering together the vintage photographs, 3D scans and footage from visual-effects enables each celebrity photo in "Yearbooks" to tell a story in a unique and mesmerizing way.

The new spot signals Honda's return to the big game following last year's highly successful "A New Truck to Love" ad that introduced the new Ridgeline pickup through Queen's iconic "Somebody to Love," generating more than 100,000 handraisers for Honda's innovative new truck.

2017 marks the third appearance for CR-V during a Super Bowl. The first-generation CR-V appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, with the previous generation CR-V showcased in a 2012 commercial paying homage to a well-known coming-of-age character in "Matthew's Day Off." The spot was a big hit four years ago and became one of the most talked-about Super Bowl ads even before it aired during the game.

Leading up to the debut of "Yearbooks," Honda released a
short teaser spot starring Steve Carell on Facebook and Twitter. As part of the #PowerOfDreams social-media campaign, the stars of "Yearbooks" and social influencers will inspire others to follow their dreams, leading up to and throughout the big game.

The 2017 CR-V went on sale on Dec. 21 and boasts bold new styling, a more premium interior, an turbocharged engine (the model's first) and a host of new features and technologies aimed at maintaining CR-V's status as the outright benchmark in the highly popular compact SUV segment. The 2017 CR-V also expands the application of the Honda SensingTM suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, now offered as standard equipment on EX and higher models.