The ad I mentioned earlier is a curiously accurate portrayal of Soichiro Honda's life story, including such nice details as:
- the seagull feeding her young, symbolising Honda's dream in its infancy
- Honda living in a caravan by the sea, representing his feeling of alienation and being an outsider (to dream the impossible dream)
- two seagulls on the rock: Honda and Takeo Fujisawan
- dogs chasing him and barking: symbolising the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan, which was hostile to Honda in its early days, the gakubatsu (academic clique), and the zaibatsu (industry conglomerate consisting primarily of Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Yasuda and Nissan), all of which gave the young Honda company a rough time (to fight the unbeatable foe)
- flock of sheep running (herd mentality), while Honda takes his own path (to run where the brave dare not go)
- a line of significant Honda machines, each with an impossible dream behind it, as the company develops and becomes increasingly ambitious (to reach the unreachable star/this is my quest)
- the powerboat going over the waterfall: the death of Mr Soichiro Honda
- a pause in the music, with the following lyrics missing:
That my heart will be peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this,
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage.
The balloon rising from the mist: despite Honda's death, his dreams live on in the form of his company
Legendary London post-production house The Mill is responsible for the dozens of seagulls in the ad, and put Simon Day's singing face on the powerboat, racing car, etc., as well as many other details.
Honda is unique among car companies. It has a strong Japanese work ethos with a European-like flair for style and an American-like enthusiasm for taking risks. I'm very happy to see it doing so well of late. Very refreshing when compared to lifeless trainwrecks like Ford, Toyota, all the GM subsidiaries (especially the British ones like Vauxhall), etc.
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