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Vintage Honda Advertisements!
How many of these do you remember seeing way back when?
Enjoy this collection of vintage advertisements that were quite prominent back in the day! |
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"You meet the nicest people on a Honda"
Here's where it all started, meeting the nicest people on a Honda from the first advertising campaign launched in early 1963. For 245 dollars the Super Cub suited everyone, from sheep dogs to Santa Claus!
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Image Concious...
Honda had to create a market for their motorcycles in this country with advertising as bold and creative as their engineers. This meant attempting to sell motorcycles to people that never thought of ever owning one, and overcoming the existing prejudices laid out by both Hollywood and the media. |
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Winner Takes it All
Honda was justifiably proud of taking GP titles in all five classes in this 1966 ad, but the copy deftly goes on to make the point that racing success makes for better production bikes. |
"SOME PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE FUN"
Near Right: This ad for the S65 Sport ran in 1966, and touted how easily a Honda takes to formal affairs. The copy also put Honda's lineup at 14 models, "the biggest selection in the business."
Far Right: This 1966 ad touts the Cub's economy with a 215 dollar price tag and up to 200mpg against the all-American backdrop of Little League sluggers and their dads.
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"Reshaping the World"
"You meet the nicest people" took on a new dimension in the mod-60's, and this ad promised that "one of these 20 models is going to turn you on!" One could also get the dealer to customize the bike with choice of tanks, exhaust, handlebar, and seat. |
"Ask and You Shall Recieve"
When the CB750 came out in 1969, it stunned the motorcycling world. The bike was an exercise in engineering triumph, reflected in the ad copy that ends with "You asked for it." |
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"Still the Nicest..."
More than ten years after the Super Cub campaign, Honda's marketing in this 1974 ad still focuses on the simple family-oriented pleasures of riding a motorcycle. |
Run with the Pack
The legend of the Hollister riots and "The Wild One" took a long time to die in the US, Honda took the notion of the motorcycle gang and stood it on its head with this 1975 ad. |
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What do they say about...
In the early days of motorcycle advertising, if there was a woman present in the ad she served merely as eye candy and was typically scantily clad. Leave it to Honda to take the mature high road approach, and instead show the gal as a rider, and not merely as an ornament. |
Still in use, even today!
By 1983 the market had matured and become more specialized, and so had the advertising and marketing. This ad for the Interceptor explicitly shows what the bike is capable of, and the tag line pulls no punches: "Follow the Leader." |
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Dawn of the Power Cruisers
Honda helped create a new genre of motorcycles in the mid 1980's (and revived it again recently): the power cruiser. Straight line acceleration was the primary measure of performance, and this bare bones text ad reflects just that with a bit of attitude. |
So THAT'S where it came from..!
Honda was sufficienty proud of its 20th anniversary Gold Wing to promote it, the people who built it, and the book that celebrated it in this 1995 ad. The overriding message though is in the tag line, with the all-inclusive feel-good approach of "Come ride with us." |
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