A short animated sequence featuring Tintin and Snowy suddenly appeared on social networks at the beginning of August. This 15-second advertising spot, The film, unknown to most Tintin fans, dates from 1988. It was made for the car manufacturer Honda and broadcast on Japanese television, notably on NTV on 1 January.^er June of that year. The title of the advert, «Tintin's Dream of Honda», announced what was to come: asleep, the boy with the tassel dreams himself reduced to a Lilliputian size and explores the passenger compartment of a car in the company of his fox terrier.

The drawing, very faithful to that of Hergé, recalls our two heroes as they appear, with youthful features, in certain plates of the definitive versions of Tintin in Congo and Tintin in America. The soundtrack features the song «Les Aventures de Tintin» by Japanese singer Taeko Ohnuki, from her album Girlfriend (1985), with a new orchestration.

A spot that's not entirely authorised

At the time, BIL (Baran International Licensing), the forerunner of Moulinsart, managed the rights derived from Hergé's work. Alain Baran, who headed the company, recalls that BIL was not put in touch with Honda for this spot. «It was Nick Rodwell who, at the same time as launching a Tintin shop in Tokyo, negotiated this advert as agent for derivative rights in Japan».», he commented on Facebook.

Tintinologist Jean-Claude Jouret, whom I interviewed, also remembers this moment precisely. In 1988, he was in charge of Tintin merchandising for the whole world at BIL. BIL had just terminated its contracts with Astra-Calvé and its Swiss subsidiary S.A.I.S. Dorina, owners of the Fruit d'or brand. Gone were the many advertisements in which Professor Tournesol was seen soaring through the air with a bottle of oil or a tub of margarine in his hand. «In fact, these adverts were moving further and further away from the world of Hergé's characters».», explains Jean-Claude Jouret. «In this order of things, the Honda spot didn't fit in with our strategy of avoiding making Tintin the spokesperson for a brand in a world too far removed from that of his adventures.»

The production of the Honda advert preceded BIL's initial discussions with the French studio Ellipse for the production of an animated series by several months. «The graphic and respectful aspects of the albums were emphasised from the outset. It has to be said that authorising the broadcasting of such an ad did not give us much credibility in our demands...».», adds Jean-Claude Jouret. Fortunately, the means of communication at the end of the 1980s were such that Ellipse never knew anything about the short Japanese cartoon.

Honda Japan continued to use the Tintin character in its promotional campaigns until 1989. Did the reporter in the knickerbockers appear in other advertising spots for the car brand during this period? The question remains...