Honda solves puzzles to introduce zero-emission car

LONDON - Honda solves a series of impossible puzzles such as the Rubik cube to highlight its green credentials in a TV ad that launches today as part of the second phase of its 'Problem Playground' campaign.

The TV ad, created by Wieden & Kennedy London, introduces the Honda FCX Clarity, the company's first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell car to go into production.

It follows on from a first phase of print, online and radio activity that launched mid-January. You can view the ad .

The 90-second spot opens on an extreme close-up of a Rubik cube. An army of Honda workers then build a sculpture of Honda's hybrid engine using thousands of completed cubes.

The result inspires the team to head outdoors to complete a series of puzzles, each one representing an engineering problem solved by Honda, such as building energy efficient solar panels.

Finally, the team build an enormous jigsaw model of the Honda FCX Clarity as a voice-over explains that when you love finding solutions every problem becomes a playground.

The ad was created by Sam Heath and Frank Ginger, directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet and produced by Rachel Hough.

It required thousands of Rubik cubes, four construction teams and a cast of more than 140 people a day to create the ad.

Ian Armstrong, Honda UK manager of customer communications, said: "This campaign allows us to showcase some of the many environmentally focused technology innovations we have been developing since the 1950s, as well as some of our future products."

Kim Papworth, creative director at Wieden & Kennedy, said: "This ad celebrates the optimism and ingenuity of Honda and the human way they approach environmental engineering."