Actually it goes back to an old film called 'The Way Things Go'. Honda's ad agency were sued by the original film makers, if memory serves. I remember reading about it in uni after it came out.
Honda's ads are always beautifully made, but its a shame they had to steal an idea, and not even consult the guys who came up with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTobV-Gnv-8
