• by Karl Greenberg , February 5, 2010

Honda Motor's Acura division is running a national advertising campaign for its newest vehicle, a coupe concept called the ZDX. The campaign is a bipartite effort that touts the car and where it's is from: the new Acura design studio in Torrance, Calif.

One of two 30-second spots will be on network cable and sports programming, including in-game commercials during the Super Bowl in select markets. The spot will also run in Landmark and Art House Theatres throughout the country during February. As part of the media buy, Ovation TV's Designer People created a 30-minute episode featuring the ZDX designers.

"As the first car conceived at the new Acura Design Studio, the ZDX presented a unique opportunity to rethink how the creation of a vehicle progresses from lines on paper to finished product," said Susie Rossick, Acura advertising manager. "Our goal is for this campaign to position the ZDX as the most refined Acura yet and to set the tone for all Acura vehicles to come."

The aesthetic-minded campaign also has, in addition to three print spreads that appear in a range of pubs, a "Zig Zag" ad where ad copy runs through consecutive pages of editorial, ultimately revealing the ZDX.

An airport campaign includes ZDX dioramas in major terminals. There will also be "art installation"-type out-of-home elements that alter visual perspective depending on where the viewer stands. They will also be at airports.

Acura is also doing over 10 home page roadblocks and a half-day Yahoo takeover featuring push-down units, where the masthead of the publication is reflected as a mirror image in the ZDX's panoramic glass roof.

ZDX launch parties will take place in seven of Acura's top markets. The campaign is via RPA's rp& division. /p> The campaign for the ZDX is the first featuring Acura's Design Studio, which officially opened in 2007. The ZDX is the first vehicle designed there.

The ZDX is what Acura is calling a "four-door coupe." It's technically a sedan, but the designers wanted to keep with the concept, which was a true coupe, so they used features like hidden rear door handles and a sloped roof. The ZDX also has an all-glass roof to keep an open-air feeling inside the cabin, unlike traditional coupes.