A really big thing, or big understatement?

Honda recently rolled out their "The Really Big Thing Sales Event" promotion. My first impression was that either Honda or their agency has given-up on developing a creative theme for a promotion altogether. I mean -- how much more generic can it get? This name could be used for any offer, any product and any brand.

I've worked in promotions, and I'll be the first to say that a brand connection isn't compulsory in order for a promo to drive immediate sales. However, it's good to have. For one, it would help consumers remember which manufacturer is offering this program. And it could further crystalize the brand in consumers and current owners minds.

Plus, this concept doesn't even allude to what the offer is about. Without a brand build or a tease on the offer, is a theme/concept providing any value? I guess it would at least help with the creative premise of the ads, right? Well in this case, I don't think so.

The TVC seems to use the "really big thing" as the focus. So really huge displays for the dealerships (giant crash-test dummy, giant zeros). The storyline unwittingly makes the dealership staff look clueless as they wonder what the "really big thing" is and wonder how to display the props. Again, not really helping to support whatever Honda is trying to do for their brand.

The ironic thing is that the offer is really pretty big. Honda hasn't really done something of this magnitude before, so I suppose that point was included in the brief and may be where the entire concept sprung from. Honda's promo is meant to top Toyota's recent discounts which are significant (because they are desperate after their highly-publicized recalls).

I'm not sure that the literal, "The Really Big Thing Sales Event" will translate to consumers; and therefore, how it might perform in terms of sales. If it doesn't, I guess we will never know if it could have performed better if some value would have been placed on the creative concept.