Honda Moto France and the Japanese bike brand’s racing team sought to build engagement and excitement ahead of the Le Mans 24 through a silk screen tribute and linked film, print and social campaign about its previous failed attempts to win the legendary race.
Pairing up with agency DDB Paris, the project’s underpinning insight is that the very act of competing in the race is an act of endurance in itself. The annual race is, according to Honda, ‘as famous for the almosts, the nearly theres and the not quite as it is for sporting triumphs’.
The campaign was inspired by the 2022 event when Honda Moto France hoped to be crowned as the greatest ever motorcycle manufacturer in the race’s history, but after a titanic struggle fell short of its goal and finished in third place.
Launched a few weeks ahead of this year’s ‘24 Heures Motos 2023’ – which runs from 13 to 16 April – the campaign was built around a series of 24 silkscreen prints.
Created by French screen printing studio Shlag Lab, each screen print is made using special ink produced from the engine oil of the Honda motorbikes which raced in the 2022 event. The mono-colour prints each show one of 24 different photographs taken from the race and are accompanied by copy captions which tell the tale of Honda’s ill-fated attempt to win.
The screen prints, which were exhibited at motorcycle shows across Europe, also form the heart of a short film titled ‘The Beautiful Fail’ which continues that story.
The campaign was briefed in by and created for a Honda Moto France team led by Brand Managers Sébastien Pernel, Valérie Larousse, Laura Henimann and developed by a group at DDB Pari which included Chief Creative Officer Alexander Kalchev, Creative Directors Alexis Benbehe and Pierre Mathonat, Art Director Jean Weessa, Copywriter Damien Veillet, Agency Account Managers Vincent Léorat and Tom Salvan, Print Producers Erick Barbotte and Corinne Vulliez, Video Producers Pierre Mathonat, Alexis Benbehe and Julien Beuvry, with Creative Traffic handled by Sophie Toque and Virginie Fruchard.
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The gruelling ’24 Heures Motos 2023’ at Le Mans is run under the auspices of The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme / International Motorcycling Federation (FIM). It dates back to 1978 and is held annually in April and the motorcycle edition of the endurance event rewards manufacturers and engineering teams as well as the riders.
The campaign rolled out as pre-testing for the Le Mans 24 hour race came to an end and after what was a successful race weekend for Honda Moto.
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