Honda Brings Russian Ivan in American Homes With Amazon AI-Generated Prologue Ads

Because the vehicle is of such importance to the brand, Honda seems to be sparing no expense in advertising its product. And that includes partnering with Amazon for something that promises to be a "first-of-its kind storytelling experience."

The online giant is operating a side business called Ads Brand Innovation Lab. As the name says, we're talking about a crew meant to help companies advertise their products in new and innovative ways. And that's exactly what it did for Honda and the Prologue: create a campaign unlike any other before it. But it also has a pretty strange twist to it.

To support the launch of the Prologue and spread the word about it, Honda is now betting on something called The Dream Generator. It's actually a dedicated page over on Amazon that anyone can visit, have a short, animated video made, and share it with friends.

The exercise does not require any complicated programming or animation skills. Because it relies on an artificial intelligence system, The Dream Generator only asks a user to answer a few questions, and it then generates the animation based on the answers provided. Or, if that's too much hassle for users, it can generate a video without any input.

Regardless of the resulting video, the Honda Prologue is at the center of it all, because that's the point of this entire exercise, isn't it? That's why you'll see the SUV appearing in jungles populated by dinosaurs, or in a magical cloud world, or among garden critters, and even in outer space.

To create the videos, the AI draws images from 190 story variations put together by an army of illustrators, animation artists, and 3D gurus. It combines that with music and sounds to create rather appealing clips of the Prologue in action.

People going for the collaborative experience, meaning the ones that plan to tell the AI what video to generate, will have to choose who will board the Prologue for the virtual trip (the driver, passengers, and pet), and then choose the adventure they want to see animated. Pretty straightforward, but there's a bit of an oddity right at the beginning of this entire selection process.

There are two driver types to choose from, a male and a female. And despite the entire exercise, as well as the electric Prologue itself, being aimed at the American market, the names chosen for the two driver characters are the most un-American things you'll see all week.

The guy driver type is called Ivan, and as you probably all know that's a very common name over in Russia. The girl is Anika, whose origins can be traced back to Sanskrit, and it is now commonly used in several places around the world, including Germany, Sweden, and even Africa.

These two are accompanied on the front row of seats either Harper or Tiana, and in the rear by Quinn or Skylar. The pet, a dog, is called either Rocky or Santo.

The clips generated by the AI can be experienced in a computer browser, on a smartphone, or even on a TV equipped with Fire TV.

If you're planning to visit Amazon anytime soon, you won't necessarily have to follow this link to reach the Honda Dream Generator. Ads for it will be visible all over Amazon in the coming weeks and will later spread to become voice-activated with the help of Alexa.

As for the SUV this entire exercise is meant for, the Prologue will reach American dealers in five trim levels and in either dual or single-motor configurations.

The entry-level electric SUV in terms of price is the single motor EX, retailing from $47,400 and offering the biggest range of the entire pack, 296 miles (476 km). This version cranks out 212 hp and 236 lb.-ft. of torque from the front-mounted motor.

At the opposite end sits the dual motor Elite, going for $57,900 and offering the least range, 273 miles (439 km). The power levels are however higher, with the two electric motors offering a combined 288 hp and 333 lb.-ft. of torque.

All Honda Prologue versions qualify for the $7,500 EV tax credit, which applies to the prices mentioned above, bringing them conveniently lower. Regardless of models, the Prologue comes equipped as standard with 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels, built-in Google, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and even Sirius XM satellite radio.

All Prologues can be recharged with DC fast charging at rates up to 150 kW, in which case the 85 kWh lithium-ion battery pack gains 65 miles of range (104 km) every ten minutes.