Grrr ("Hate Something, Change Something")
Honda2004
Grrr ("Hate Something, Change Something") is a 2004 90-second animated television and cinema commercial for Honda, created by Wieden+Kennedy, London.
The line
Hate something, change something.
Why it works
A diesel-engine ad built on hate. Honda engineer Kenichi Nagahiro despised diesels — so he built a better one, and W+K turned that origin story into "positive hate": a candy-coloured animated wonderland where cheerful wildlife destroys noisy old diesel engines while Garrison Keillor croons "hate something, change something." Released in 2004, it was the most-awarded campaign of its year, won the 2005 Cannes Film Grand Prix with the backing of 17 of 22 jurors, and was later named Adweek's commercial of the decade. The business case matched the craft: UK diesel Accord sales rose from 518 units in 2003 to 21,766 in 2004. It is studied for strategic jiu-jitsu — leading with the product's most hated attribute — and for proving animation could win advertising's top film prize.
Techniques
- Card stacking Leads with diesel's most hated qualities, turning an engineer's loathing of noisy old engines into the case for Honda's better one.
- Jingles and music A crooned song built on the line about hating something and changing something carries the message through a candy-coloured animated wonderland.
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