Do you want Michael Bolton to wish you a Happy Holiday?

Published December 24, 2013 at 8:04 am

In the few months, we’ve already seen at least one car company using cornball humor to draw in customers.

In November, Dodge released an ad campaign featuring Will Ferrell as popular movie character Ron Burgundy, from the hit movie Anchorman. The ad features Ron Burgundy explaining reasons to buy a Dodge Durango. The campaign continues with Dodge’s recent announcement of the “Hands on Ron Burgundy” contest, which offers contestants the chance to win a new Dodge.

But Dodge isn’t the only auto manufacturer that has recently turned to humorous celebrity personalities to sell cars.

Honda seeks to capitalize on a similar comical sentiment, with the release of its new holiday ad campaign featuring Michael Bolton, the formerly long-haired and notoriously sentimental singer who rose to fame during the 1990s. To promote their holiday sales event, Honda is giving people a chance to receive musical greeting card from Michael Bolton.

The campaign has run six ads throughout the holiday season, all featuring Bolton in their Happy Honda Days campaign. The campaign features holiday-themed songs that have also appeared on television.

Viewers even had a chance to win a greeting from Bolton — all you had to do was post your greeting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Vine and use the hashtag #XOXOBolton.

These kinds of creative marketing campaigns are effective because they capitalize on celebrity, humor and nostalgia, while also giving people incentive to win a prize and have fun. When used well, humor can be a very effective strategy in a marketing campaign.