• by Tanya Gazdik , September 26, 2019

Honda hopes to connect with some of its Honda Civic targets — Gen Z and millennials — via an animated comic series.

The series, which will live only on social media platforms, was created by RPA to promote the redesigned 2020 Honda Civic hatchback and to celebrate the recent National Comic Book Day.

The story, called “Revenge of the Biospiders,” focuses on an apocalyptic world where genetically engineered spiders, once designed to save humanity, have now overtaken it. As the light of humanity starts to dim, two unlikely heroes and their Civic Hatchback rise up and attempt to reverse the course of mankind. 

In addition to the six-episode video series, Honda launched a static, “comic-grid” version of the story on a unique Instagram handle, @HondaComics. 

Using Instagram allows Honda to pay homage to traditional comics forms while offering a completely new way for fans to engage with the campaign, says Jessica Fini, manager, social media at American Honda Motor Co. By turning their phone horizontally, fans can swipe left as if they are flipping through the pages of a comic book.

“This is Honda’s first time creating a comic strip, which according to Facebook is a growing trend on social in 2019 — especially with the rise of film and TV adaptations,” Fini tells Marketing Daily. “The comic book creative was selected to complement the social and digital effort aimed at a young millennial audience.”

Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3 will be promoted on Instagram, Facebook and live in pre-roll. 

In addition to being the best-selling car in its class, the Honda Civic has been the retail best-selling passenger car for three straight years. Civic is an important gateway to the Honda brand for the newest car shoppers in the market today, according to the automaker.