Honda's New Insight Ad Doesn't Make Sense

Honda has launched a new media campaign for the Insight, a model that stages its third reappearance for the 2019 model year. The media push frames other hybrids as ugly, boring vehicles you have to settle for in order to gain superior fuel economy. There’s a social media initiative that transforms everyday objects into something more interesting and a television spot where other vehicles mill around while covered in bubble letters that spell out “blah” or “meh,” with horns and engine noises to match.

But the whole ad seems counterintuitive. The Insight ditched its funky wheel coverings after the first generation, which was followed by the loss of the glass-back hatch. Now it’s a pretty normal looking vehicle. You might even mistake it for a miniature Honda Accord.

That’s not an insult; the Accord isn’t a bad looking vehicle, but it also blends in easily with traffic. A large part of that is due to its popularity, but it still calls into question the whole premise of the ad — which serves to portray other hybrids as mundane.

The entire point of redesigning the Insight was to produce a more normal-looking vehicle. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Prius has only grown stranger as the years progress — to its detriment.

During a drive event for the Hyundai Ioniq, I had an opportunity to swap between that model and the (plug-in) Prius Prime, and Toyota’s bizarre styling choices were never more apparent. When you hop into the Prius, you instantly notice all the quirks (and might even appreciate them). But when you’ve just spent three hours in one of its comparatively normal rivals, all of those fun little touches start to seem a little odd. It’s almost overwhelming and, while you probably won’t mind after living with those eccentricities for a while, it might be enough to scare some people away at the dealership.

The Prius family remains the established hybrid choice, even those the Honda Insight technically debuted first, and is a serviceable choice for hyper-mile enthusiasts. But Toyota’s once robust hybrid sales dwindled as gas grew cheaper and the Prius’ styling became more edgy.

However, Honda can’t make an ad that says, “We’ve split the difference between polarizing and dull!”

While we would praise the company for its openness and honesty, “Fight Mediocrity” is the catchier slogan. People want to hear that a car is special, exiting, and better than its rivals.

In this way, the ad makes sense, though the automaker claims it’s not trying to obliterate Prius sales. “[Honda] isn’t really to overtake the Prius. Prius has a lot of brand equity,” Susie Rossick, assistant vice president of Honda’s marketing team, explained to Automotive News. Instead, the Insight is supposed lure buyers that are seeking “a really great looking sedan that just happens to be a hybrid.”

The consumer base for such a vehicle might be slim. Sedan sales aren’t exactly on the upswing and the same can be said for hybrid vehicles in general. If there is another spike in gas prices, maybe that will change. But the market is currently heading away from this sort of vehicle. Perhaps Honda should have made the “blah” vehicles in its ad look dirtier, with a little more ground clearance, because it’s pickup trucks and crossovers that the Insight has to worry about most.

All told, it’s not a bad ad. It’s memorable, simple to understand, and preys upon your insecurities. These are all effective marketing tactics. It doesn’t hurt that the Insight isn’t a dud, either. But the whole thing doesn’t make sense when it’s probably one of the most normal hybrids currently available.