G.I. Joe, Jem, and More Childhood Friends Are Selling Cars

Honda has decided to take a hint from the film and television industry this holiday season by taking advantage of your nostalgia. The company's new ads feature some of your old pals, like Jem, G.I. Joe, Strawberry Shortcake, Stretch Armstrong, and Skeletor—okay, maybe Skeletor wasn’t one of your childhood “friends.” It depends on what kind of kid you were.

These new commercials are... not great. The concept is basically: Here are some characters you loved when you were a kid! Remember them? It’s cute, right? There aren’t even really any jokes. G.I. Joe interrupts Jem, and He-Man makes a tiny cameo in the Skeletor ad, but this is all basically working off of the concept of brand recognition, which isn’t enough to charm anyone. Who are you fooling here, Honda?

We’ve had studios milking our nostalgia to build franchises for a long time now, so we’re used to this song and dance. But if you’re going to come to us with old toys and characters from our childhood, at least, you know, have some jokes. Instead, they just sit there and talk about Honda.

You can check out the other three commercials below, which you will likely be seeing on television for the next month or so.