Honda launches £10m Euro pitch

Honda Motor Europe is understood to be talking to a number of advertising agencies about a £10m pan-European launch campaign for its next-generation Civic.

Honda European advertising manager Chris Brown denies the company has decided to hold a pitch, and says an official decision will be made at the start of next month after a meeting in Paris.

Honda has run one previous pan-European launch campaign. Edinburgh-based the Leith Agency was hired more than two years ago to create a £10m push for the four-wheel-drive, off-the-road vehicle HR-V.

The budget for the Civic is likely to be a similar size.

Both the Leith and Honda UK’s ad agency CDP are expected to be shortlisted.

Brown comments: “The launch of the Civic 01 will be a little more ambitious than the launch of the HR-V.”

A Honda UK spokeswoman stressed that any decision taken by Honda Europe on the launch of the new Civic would not affect CDP’s relationship with the UK business.

The new Civic will be displayed for the first time at the Paris motor show in autumn this year.