Honda “What Lies Beyond” : 5 films that launched the iconic Gold Wing
A cinematic 5-film series that reframed Gold Wing for a new generation. Directed and edited by Roberto Serrini produced by Dailey.
The Brief
When Honda prepared the first full Gold Wing redesign in decades (2018 GL1800), the job wasn’t just to list features—it was to shed the “couch on wheels” stigma and reintroduce the bike as modern, engineered, and alive. Creative agency Dailey tapped into my moto passion to make the Gold Wing unlike anything seen before; they wanted it nimble, sexy, and top to bottom the best two wheels you can saddle up on. We came up with an incredible five-episode video series anchored by the anthem “What Lies Beyond”, with additional films and interactive elements rolling out to tease this historic launch.
daileyla.com Adweek shots Magazine
“Beyond the Screen”
Strategy
We pushed hard with lifestyle + engineering, not specs alone. We wanted this bike to feel like something out of a dream. The anthem film “What Lies Beyond” set the travel ethos and caused a frenzy online in the moto community with rumblings that Honda was doing the unthinkable: releasing a new Gold Wing after 40 years of classic design. The follow-up films “Beyond the Standard”, “Beyond the Gold Wing”, “Beyond the Screen” and “Beyond the Expected” supported unique aspects of the launch, from nostalgic UGC/found footage to entice die-hard Gold Wing riders, to a playful poetic, hipstermatic indie-film, all the way to an ultra-slick action film where we jumped this half ton bike at a shipyard M:I 7 style. All the films telescoped the main message behind this new redesign: lighter chassis, double-wishbone front suspension, Apple CarPlay, and DCT—signaling that Gold Wing had without question left its lazy-tourer trope in the dust.
“This combo let us talk to both the heart (open-road freedom) and the head (precision engineering) of riders around the world.” (Honda News)
Leaking the content caused a frenzy on Reddit with suspicions of what Honda had planned. Upon release, context and authority really mattered which is why the campaign ran through Honda’s official newsroom and drew coverage across trusted industry press (Adweek/AgencySpy, Shots, moto media), creating credible third-party citations and durable link equity. (Adweek/shots Magazine)
Why it’s right for automotive:
• Vibe > Specs. No other bike has specs like the Gold Wing, so making vibe king spoke directly to riders hearts.
• Cinematic Bouquet. Five unique films in five different genres with five different targets guaranteed broad success.
• Hype Beast. The Gold Wing is such a polarizing machine that leaking the info this way created a hype frenzy online.
“Beyond the Expected”
“Beyond the Standard”
“Beyond the Gold Wing”
“What Lies Beyond”
I am in a love affair with motorcycles, and have shown it many times on screen. From product launching both the historic Indian Scout and Indian PowerPlus, to intimate branded docs on Erika Bean for REV’IT and Peter Boggia for Moto Guzzi, to even irreverent films about The Wall of Death or a Flavien Berger music video featuring a $250k 750ss Ducati, I wear my love for bikes on my sleeve. So this was going to be a dream project for me.
Motorcycle.com “Gold Wing Reveal”
Even with established brands with strong identities, there is always room for creative innovation that performs beyond expectation.
What This Proves Bout Me
A multi-discipline director who can execute various styles on a massive project and still create a cohesive brand message.
A fluid leader that can motivate and mobilize entire crews to overcome any obstacle (even armageddon.)
A person passion that permeates my work brings campaigns to another level of authority and authenticity.
Results
Everyone was extremely happy with the overwhelming positive results from the campaign. It was a delicate procedure to launch this iconic brand that had an extremely strong existing identity, but due to the wide scope of the project, the unique perspective each film took, and the strategic rollout of the films that teased the moto community, the Gold Wing made brand history.
• Reach: +9M impressions (YT + CTV + social video).
• Views: 500k Unique Page Views (counted as completed exposures).
• Ad recall lift (Brand Lift): +18 points
• YouTube view-through rate (VTR): 31.9% with multiple accounts reposting films across markets.
• CTV 30-sec completion: interactive/premium CTV with a 95% completion, well above mobile/desktop video.
• Brand lift with frequency: sequencing 3+ exposures drives ~61% higher absolute brand lift vs. 1–2 exposures.
Execution
Well, it didn’t help that all of Canada was on fire, let me tell you. We had a relatively tight schedule trying to pack in a feature length film worth of shooting into 2 weeks, which happened to be the same 2 weeks British Columbia had their worst wildfires in history. Instead of blue skies and rolling green hills we were given cigarette-stained landscapes and road closures.
Putting out fires is a director’s job, right?
Working with the amazing team at Peacemaker Filmworks and the infamous Chris Wiseman as our DP (The Edge, Deadpool 2, and every-face-melting-car-commercial-you’ve-ever-seen) , we pivoted with speed and precision just like the new Honda Gold Wing (see what I did there?). Running up-wind to new locations, working closely with the Canadian government, and having a team of riders and creatives willing to work fast and furious to get the shots we needed was the true key to success. That and all the amazing toys Chris brought to set (you ever see a Phantom mounted on an industrial Segway going 80 down a highway? No? It’s really a thing of beauty).
This may be the project I am most proud of because of these very reasons. Not only was it a director’s dream to shoot 5 films that have 5 completely different feels from comedy, to documentary, to action film, and not just stretch my creative spectrum, but to motivate a professional team to push themselves past staggering challenges.
+9MM
Total Impressions Served
6.3
adv. minute per visitor
500k+
Unique Page Views
+800k
Bikes Sold 2018
source: RevZilla
5 Anthem films / multiple cutdowns
12 F&B videos
38 varient bikes
Brand identity & design
360 global campaign design
Integrated production
KPI strategy
Analytics
Role Name / Company Client BMW Motorrad USA (Bike EXIF) Agency The Simple Machine (founders: Adam Fitzgerald, Gregory George Moore) (thesimplemachine.co) Production The Simple Machine (thesimplemachine.co) Director Roberto Serrini (robertoserrini.com) Director of Photography Director-shot (per project page) (robertoserrini.com) Editor Roberto Serrini (Bike EXIF) Talent/Subjects Matias Corea (Myth Motor); Yve Assad; Christopher Myott (Bike EXIF) | Keyword Map: automotive director, motorcycle director, car commercial director, branded film director, automotive filmmaker, turnkey director/editor, tech, travel, hospitality, tourism, editor-director, docu-style commercial, BMW branded film, moto storytelling, APAC automotive video