Advertising is a dark art. Convincing people to spend cash on something they didn't know they wanted, assuring them they want it more than anything else in the world, it's a strange mix of rhetoric and slight of hand. The team behind the latest Honda Civic ad have got it down to a fine art.
Titled The Other Side, the ad plays out as an interactive video attempting to highlight the different driving experiences offered by the two models of the Japanese manufacturer's iconic hatchback: the standard Civic and the Civic Type R.
The "standard" version of the trailer depicts a father collecting his children from school, driving them through an urban landscape to a party. So far, so normal. However, an instruction issued early on in the video informers viewers to press R at any moment during the video, flipping the story to that of the same man acting as a getaway driver for a robbery, seated in the Type R. The camera angles and shot durations are exactly the same, but the contexts entirely contrasting.
It's an involving experience, incredibly different to the usual clickbait of internet advertising and the humdrum of television time-wasters. The only possible flaw? Why would anyone by the normal Civic over the Type R?
For a taste of the ad, see the video below - you're going to have to follow this link to see the interactive video, as we can't embed it. Enjoy.