DDB Paris print campaign for Honda marks the motorcycle brand’s failed attempt at Le Mans 24.
The grueling Le Mans race is as famous for the almost, the almost and the not quite as it is for sporting triumphs.
Held in April 1978, the motorcycle edition of the endurance event rewards manufacturers and engineering teams as well as riders.
Participating is an act of resistance in itself. Last year, Honda Moto France hoped to be crowned the best manufacturer in the history of the race, but in the end, it fell short in third place.
Weeks before this year’s event, the brand is marking this success, and the story behind it, with a special campaign created by agency DDB Paris, which has created a series of 24 screen prints.
Each screen print is made with ink produced from the engine oil of the Honda bikes competing in the 2022 event by French screen printing studio Shlag Lab. The monochrome prints show 24 different photographs taken from the race, accompanied by captions that tell the story of Honda’s ill-fated bid for the throne.
DDB Paris’ short film ‘The Beautiful Fail’ continues this story, following the exhibition of the agency’s prints at motorcycle shows.
credits
Motorcycle Honda France
Brand managers: Sébastien Pernel, Valérie Larousse, Laura Henimann
DDB Paris
Creative director: Alexander Kalchev
Creative directors: Alexis Benbehe, Pierre Mathonat
Art director: Jean Weessa
Editor: Damien Veillet
Agency account managers: Vincent Léorat, Tom Salvan
Print production: Erick Barbotte, Corinne Vulliez
Video case: Pierre Mathonat, Alexis Benbehe, Julien Beuvry
Creative Traffic: Sophie Toque, Virginie Fruchard
Screen printing workshop: Shlag Lab
