There is a hard-core group of Honda fans in Italy, called Honda lovers. People who recognize the cars of the Japanese brand as vehicles of driving pleasure, excitement, and reliability. It is therefore no coincidence that those who buy a Honda hardly ever separate from it afterwards. Out of 1,000 used cars sold in Italy, only 3 are Honda: this emerges from the research Autoritratto 2023 from Aci and Sistan.

The Off the market campaign was thus created to celebrate this love for the brand. And to indirectly reaffirm the quality of the different cars, models that continue to be appreciated and desired years later.

The stories are partly inspired by small anecdotes from real individuals received and collected in the Honda Lovers column on Honda Italia's social media profiles.

It starts as a standard advertisement for a used car sale. The car’s characteristics are listed, without hiding any defects: Precisely these defects ignite the seller's memories, giving the advert an unexpected twist.

The campaign is composed of 4 ads, each written by a different person with their own style.

Invaluable Dents has an opera enthusiast as its protagonist. The metaphors he uses to describe the merits of the car are all drawn from that world. The turning point of the story is also linked to opera, with a dent made (it would seem) by Luciano Pavarotti. From that moment on, the car is no longer a purely sentimental object, but becomes a work of art, and what he was loudly singing the praises of only moments before, becomes a secret to be whispered.

Quantitative data on the campaign are not yet available as media planning has recently started. But the goal, more than numerical, is to celebrate the strength of the brand with entertaining stories and its ability to emotionally bond with its owners. To succeed in selling more new cars via the story of a failed used car sale