Honda has been named in Thomson Reuters’ prestigious Top 100 Global Innovators report for the fifth year in a row.

Honda has been named in Thomson Reuters’ prestigious Top 100 Global Innovators report for the fifth year in a row.  The annual report identifies companies that discover new inventions and successfully patent them.

Describing itself as a list of the top 100 worldwide innovation power players, with winners identified as trendsetters that need to be watched, the report has recognised Honda’s innovation every year since its inception in 2011.

With automotive companies making up 10 per cent of this year’s list, Honda is one of only two car brands to have won a spot in the report for five consecutive years and more interestingly, eight of the 10 automotive brands on the list are Japanese.

Honda has a rich history of innovation.  In the 1970s the business created a Civic engine that hit air quality targets without a catalytic converter.  The 1980s saw Honda-powered F1 cars win the Constructors’ Championship six years in a row.  During the 1990s Honda became the first manufacturer to launch a full hybrid car in the UK, the Insight.  At the start of the 21^st century, the FCX Clarity ground-breaking fur-cell car revealed, while in 2015 the new NSX supercar showcased a twin-turbo engine and three electric motors and the new Clarity Fuel Cell was launched with a fuel stack that can provide electricity in emergency situations, and the new CR-V has the world’s first predictive cruise control.

Philip Crossman, Managing Director at Honda UK, commented: “This year marks our golden anniversary in the UK with 50 years of rich history in innovating in not just cars but bikes and power products.  The business has been built on a strong belief in innovation with our founder Soichiro Honda starting the company almost 70 years ago making low cost motorbikes to help get Japan back on its feet after the ravages of the Second World War.  

"That innate desire to progress society from an engineering and technology perspective continues throughout Honda today with the Tokyo Motor Show launching the Wander Walker and the Wander Stand, both aimed at aiding mobility.  Our continuing work with robotics, namely the ASIMO project, coupled with our constant world firsts in automotive, such as the i-ACC (intelligent adaptive cruise control) which predicts when a car is going to cut in front of you on the motorway, has ensured that we once again make the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators study."

A Thomson Reuters spokesman said: “Our philosophy is that a great idea without patent protection and commercialisation is nothing more than a great idea.”

I hope you can read quickly, the new TV Ad from Honda requires it, watch it here, its fun.

A new campaign from Honda (UK) launches on Thursday 19th February, challenging viewers to echo the brand’s thirst for relentless improvement by pushing themselves to new limits.

Honda believes that by pushing themselves, everyone can surpass their own perceived limits. This philosophy is the foundation behind the brand, and has been fundamental in the development of Honda’s new range of products and continuing innovations: Honda is committed to finding out what its products are capable of by continually pushing its vehicles and technology to the limit. 

During 2015 Honda will launch several new products, each developed with this very spirit. Featured in the advert alongside ASIMO and Honda Jet are the new Honda Jazz, HR-V, Civic Type R and NSX, offering a glimpse into the exciting range of models set to join the marque’s fleet.

Rather than just telling the story of Honda’s pioneering spirit and commitment to progress, the campaign challenges viewers’ reading speed, allowing them to feel the joy of improvement for themselves. A manifesto is delivered one word at a time, with the pace increasing throughout the film, intercut with glimpses of the new Honda fleet, which are all born from the company’s challenging spirit.

A 40” TV spot directed by Man Vs Machine, which will air on Sky Sports on Thursday 19^th February during the UEFA Europa League match between Liverpool vs Beşiktaş, invites viewers to “keep up” with a message on screen, becoming increasingly difficult as the pace of the words increases to a crescendo. At approximately 500 words per minute, the fast-paced message proves that everyone is capable of achieving more than they initially thought. The energetic soundtrack, composed by Wah Wah with sound design by Factory, was created to further encourage the viewer to keep up.

Viewers are challenged to push themselves even further online through shorter – and even faster – executions of the film, and in cinemas, custom film-themed ads will run in partnership with Pearl & Dean. 

Martin Moll, Honda Motor Europe Head of Marketing said “Since day one, Honda has been fuelled by a relentless desire for improvement and constant drive for innovation. This year is a special one, with the launch of several key new products. With this campaign, we wanted to bring this to life in a way that our consumers could really engage with, by experiencing the feeling for themselves.”

Olivia Dunn, Honda UK, Head of Marketing commented “Normal speech is on average 120 words per minute, viewers will need to read at speeds up to 1000 words per minute in our faster shorter online films, which is definitely going to be a challenge whilst at the same time being fun.  These films echo the Honda ethos in all areas of business: challenging and pushing boundaries whilst being fun - the elements required to design and build the exciting new Honda product line-up for 2015.”

Scott Dungate, Creative Director at W+K London says “When you push and push yourself and reach a new level, it feels good. We wanted to give people that same feeling when they read our manifesto about Honda’s relentless improvement. So we challenged them to ‘keep up.’"