After spending nearly three years as group creative director on the Honda account at Santa Monica-based RPA, Jason Sperling is getting bumped up to ECD at the agency (where he also serves as a senior VP). Sperling joined RPA from TBWA\MAL  in summer 2010 and has subsequently led creative on notable campaigns for the automaker including last year’s CR-V Super Bowl spot, “Matthew’s Day Off,” which we’re sure you’ve all seen a million times over at this point and most recently the Honda April Fool’s Day spot. As you probably know by know, RPA did maintain did lose a few pieces of the Honda biz a few weeks ago, but more importantly, retained creative duties for the brand, thus maintaining a relationship that’s lasted over a quarter-century.

During his five-and-a-half years at \MAL, Sperling was a key player in the long-running “Get a Mac” campaign for Apple and has garnered his fair share of Cannes Lions prizes, Clios and One Show Pencils.

Fresh off of retaining creative duties at least for longtime client Honda, (phew), RPA has rolled this out on this, the jokiest, prank-filled of days. The Santa Monica-based agency introduces us to the greatest haircut-on-the-go machine known to man with the HondaHAIR, which comes equipped within the Honda Odyssey Touring Elite. What would an announce like this be without some PR speak, and Honda’s head of said department, named “Parsley Thyme” chimes in saying, ““We recognize that our Odyssey drivers are busier than ever, which is why we’ve packed the car with so many conveniences, including this HondaHAIR forward-thinking technology.” During use, we say just avoid the damn potholes, but we should say the HondaVAC in the 2014 Odyssey is an actual accessory. Credits after the jump.

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We guess TBWA\Media Arts alum Jason Sperling and his crew at RPA have some sort of competition as Miami/D.C.-based Tier10 Marketing has launched this spot promoting the Honda Civic’s 2012 line. According to Motor Trend, the ad carries an “indie vibe,” was shot on a Canon 7D DSLR camera and features the music of one-hit wonders Dirty Vegas (and Bono?). So, do you prefer this to Luchadors, zombies and urban woodsmen?

Back in the early 2000s, the Honda Civic might have seemed like an appropriate buy for a street racer looking for a light car with a lot of engine space for illegal parts. But, we’ve come a long way since The Fast and the Furious, and this new campaign from RPA reminds us of the timeless adage, “To each their own.”

The spots feature five original Honda-driving characters (who each will have their own individual spots), the Urban Woodsman, the Zombie, the Monster, the Ninja and the Champion Luchador who goes by Cesar. In a statement, RPA EVP/ECD Joe Baratelli says, “We want to talk directly with our target by tapping into their appreciation for ‘collective individualism’-addressing the diversity of Civic drivers while also engaging them around their common interests.” On the online front, full homepage-takeovers are planned for YouTube and MSN. If RPA gets lucky, maybe the Honda Civic will become the go-to vehicle of Generation Y. At worst, we’ll see a couple more Luchadors cruising around in Civics. Credits and another spot after the jump.

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